 Happy Easter
April 23, 2011
However, unlike the New Year’s resolutions or the thoughts of starting over that come with summer and bathing suits or a new school year and brand new number two pencils, Easter carries the message of something bigger. No, it has nothing to do with the chocolate bunnies or Easter parades, painted eggs or new bonnets. The entire holiday is about a seemingly impossible promise being fulfilled and an entirely new way of defining our lives becoming possible. We can finally take off the weight of definitions that said we can’t do something because it’s too risky or too late and just try. It’s as if we got permission to just be small, frail human beings and at the same time go for the really big dreams with a little added reassurance that things might just work out in our favor. There was never even a part of the story, then or now, where our human fallibilities weren’t taken into consideration and we got the divine nod that it was okay. We could just be ourselves. The evidence starts with once upon a time, a long time ago, when human beings got to witness a miracle or two in order to help them get over the hump of believing in something ethereal that loved them so much that all could be forgiven, just for the asking. Faith started with some hands-on miracles. However, the enduring definition of faith is that we go first and God meets us halfway. We jump off of the cliff of our own understanding where our sometimes very limited view of what could happen resides and we leap, hoping we’re not wrong. The idea that we can embrace change and bring along all of our fear and flailing and it still works is the most amazing part of all. It’s the best on-going proof that we’re always enough, just as we are for whatever’s coming next. We don’t have to become thinner or richer or younger or even more lovable. We just need to leap and we’ll be met. That’s grace and whenever we set out to do our best and be of service while having a little fun we carry a little bit of grace in our pockets with us. So, let’s get out the list of dreams we’ve been pushing to the back of our drawers but this time set out with a few twists. First of all, there’s going to be no more surveying the neighbors and family to see if our quests are even a good idea. No one can fill out the definitions of your life but you. Second big rule is we’re going to all go looking for the solutions and not the problems. That means no one gets to tell us why they think it might fail but if someone has an idea about how to make it work, we’ll stop and listen. Third part of all of this is we’re going to take our eyes off of the end goal, stay in the day we’ve been given and only do the next steps in front of us that will head us in that direction. If that means we get the car tuned up or clean out our closets then that’s where we start. We give up on knowing where it will ultimately lead or how it will look and set out on the journey. This way, we’re all much more likely to notice the blessings along the way. I spent a lifetime of staring at the destination and ignored the victories like books being published and children growing up right in front of me. The really cool part about being able to live like this is we are being of service to everyone around us who is watching in amazement at our joy and success. Falling down and getting banged around but then letting it go even becomes a way of inadvertently letting others in on the secret. We can stop struggling quite so hard becomes someone else already did it for us a long time ago and better than we could, anyway. And, for just a moment in April we stop and say thank you for such an amazing gift. So, enjoy your Easter holiday with your loved ones and set out on a remarkable life. Take a chocolate bunny with you and share with whoever you come across along the way.
Martha Randolph Carr
is the author of the novel, The Sitting Sisters. Martha can be
found on Twitter at MarthaRandolph or email at Martha@caglecartoons.com
or visit www.martharandolphcarr.com.
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