Renewal

I’d been looking forward to Easter for a while. The First Baptist Church had an Easter egg hunt on Saturday, and I had volunteered to participate. I couldn’t wait to see all the children as they ran and hunted eggs, and of course, their cuteness and eagerness did not disappoint.

At seven in the morning on Easter Sunday, I attended the Sunrise Service at Fort Clark’s amphitheater. The morning was cool and overcast. It was the perfect atmosphere. There were several familiar faces in attendance, so before the service began, we all greeted each other warmly. Several preachers spoke during the service. Their message was singular and succinct. Their cooperation was a testament to everyone’s ability to get along. Each speaker filled our hearts with wisdom and truth. By the conclusion of the service, my heart was full.

  Following the sunrise service, I rushed over to the First Baptist Church. This Sunday, I helped with the bus route. Then, I helped out in the nursery.

I couldn’t help but see this day as a time for reflection, reverence, and renewal. For the past few days, it seemed like everything had turned so green and vibrant. The greenery signaled a reawakening. I couldn’t help but feel that the time to come alive was “right now.” And as Easter approached this feeling became clearer and very obvious.

Jesus’s resurrection is something that I hold very dear. I reflect on his sacrifice quite often. I use this as a way to question myself and my beliefs and actions, to examine and evaluate what I am doing as a Christian, to see where I can improve. I celebrate Easter because I believe that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected three days later. I believe that we can be made new through our beliefs. We must be humble, and we must be willing to change. That, I believe, is what will bring about our renewal.

To be renewed means that we look at life with new eyes. We must cast off those old worries and fears and begin to live with joy. We are so lucky to be alive at this time. I truly believe that. There is always something to be thankful for, and there is always something that we can improve to make us better. I know that we must stumble. We stumble all the time. It seems that we must. We were not made perfect. And no one should ever strive to be perfect. But when you are feeling overwhelmed or out of sorts, you can strive for renewal. You can take a moment to readjust the way that you look at life. You can take a moment to reflect on your life. You can take a moment to say thank you. And this, I hope, will bring you a little bit of joy and sunshine.

Note: This blog appeared as an article in the 4/20/17 edition of the Kinney County Post.