Easter Reflections

Easter always brings me so much joy. It's really the culmination of my Christian faith, of its core beliefs. And where would I be without my faith? How many times have I come close to giving up hope, of despairing only to get back up and keep fighting the good fight because I have faith?  Listen, you may not believe what I believe and that's fine. I'm not here to tell you what to believe and how to live your life but I am sharing with you what brings me peace and gives me joy.  So whether you are of the Christian faith or not, believe in God or not, I urge you to find that something.  Find that something that fills you with a sense of peace and, when you do find it, hold on to it, cultivate it and nurture it and you will be surprised to see how much more grounded it makes you, how much more joy you find in everyday things.  So my message to you on this Easter Sunday is to find that something that fills you with a sense of peace, gives you hope and creates joy in your heart.  

I'm happy to have found mine. I'm grateful for the gift of faith that I've had since I was a little girl.  I'm in no way an expert, do not have what others call a prophetic faith but I cultivate a simple, strong and steady faith in God.  It doesn't mean that I don't get mad, angry or tired or, that I don't wonder why my life has been so full of trials and tribulations but, faith allows me to go on, to look past all the hurts, the anxiety and the stress and, to look for reasons to smiles, to be grateful.  It allows me to understand and feel other people's pain, to show compassion.  It helps me acknowledge my conscience, to hear that little voice in my head that cautions me when I'm about to embark on a dangerous path.  It doesn't make me a saint at all but it is a great ally on this journey full of uncertainties.  It allows me to feel connected to others, despite our differences, to think about ideas and examine messages from a different perspective.  Because of my faith, I remain optimistic about humanity and believe in the impossible, in the good that cannot be explained or justified.  I believe in miracles, in angels, both the ones traditionally described in story books and the ones who cross our paths as regular people.  Yes, I am very naive in some aspects but it hasn't really hurt me.  I'm still a fighter; I still speak up and take on fights that by all accounts are lost before they are even begun but that doesn't stop me from trying.  I struggle to understand the purpose behind a people's plea, individual sufferings but it doesn't turn me away from God.  Do I question all of that?  Of course I do! Sometimes I am perplexed by all I am witnessing: The hate, the selfishness, the cruelty but that, I tell myself, is not what I believe.  There are people who may use the name of God to justify hate, divisiveness and violence but I don't believe God condones any of these things.  I think people try to manipulate His message to fit their own narratives but I'm always careful about following any one person.  I know there are arguments against Christianity just like there are some against other faiths but I hold on to the basic tenets of Jesus' message:  Love and compassion.  That's it. These two ideas make up the core of my beliefs in the Christian faith.  Everything else is circumstantial and open to interpretations but whenever I'm in doubt, whenever I have questions, I go back to those two basic elements: Love and compassion.  Happy Easter Friends!