This past weekend was Easter weekend and it got me thinking about some things. Easter (from a religious standpoint) is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I do not consider myself a Christian anymore, but I still draw a lot of meaning from this story. It caused me to think about those moments in my life when I went through dark and trying times, but made it through to the other side. As a refresher, Jesus was targeted for having revolutionary ideas about the Jewish religion at the time. He called out religious leaders for having their noses so deep in the book that they couldn’t lift their eyes to see the people around them they were failing to love and lift up. He was betrayed by a friend on his whereabouts which caused him to be captured. And in the end, no one was able to come forward and save him. He was tortured and killed. Must have been a rough week!
We all go through times that shake us. Friends or family who were not there for you when you needed them. Depression or anxiety. Loss of a job. Death of a loved one. Health issues. A pandemic. The list goes on. And it sucks. I am not going to write something cliche like “it all happens for a reason” or “there is good that will come of this” because those things just do not help anyone feel better in the moment. But what I feel does inevitably happen to each of us when we go through a dark time in our life, is a transformation. It’s not always a good one, but it can be. And sometimes good doesn’t mean easy. In fact, it rarely does. Sometimes something inside of us really does “die”. Sometimes old beliefs “die” (sometimes that’s good). But as you experience these moments in your life, I hope you experience a resurrection. One that involves growth in character, strength, and resilience despite the “death” of something within yourself or outside of you. I hope you rise up on the other side of that moment in your life; new and stronger than before and with a message of hope.