What does Easter mean to you? How might you describe the day? Maybe you were full of faith and looking forward to joining your family and friends at church. Perhaps you had a special meal later in the day. If the day surrounded you in faith, hope and love, then praise God for that.
For others, it might have been a different story. Easter might be a reminder, like Christmas, of someone who is no longer with you. And with every year that passes, they are remembered and missed. So for you, Easter is a bittersweet day.
Maybe you are unChurched, not a practicing Christian or you left church when you left home and never looked back. Maybe life is just too darn busy to make time to wonder… what would engaging in church bring to my life?
For me, the entire season of Lent, is a time for rejoicing, of joy, of hope and happiness. It is about overcoming and rising above darkness and despair. This year, for me, it is about facing Parkinson's, our move and general uncertainty and turning around our lives to live in hope rather than fear. It is about celebrating LIFE and not mourning all that we are loosing. It is coming forth into the light of a new day, of a new beginning, a new normal.
Most of us want to be in control of our lives (yes, believe it or not even ME!!!), and often we are afraid to give up what we know in order to walk into the unknown in faith. There are many who prefer to stay in darkness and confusion, and some don't want to let go because the price of surrender is too high. Easter reminds me to have faith, to trust, to walk towards the light.
My counselor Molly reminded me that with Parkinson's there are so many things that can no longer be done, but we can't just stop doing them all at once; there need to be lots of "small good-byes", all in their own time. Easter let’s us pray, to ask God to show us all the new beginnings we have in our lives. Each good-bye is not a death, but a beginning.