WooHoo for the Magic that is Easter...

I love this season... The freshness, smells, sounds and light of Springtime and Easter always envelope me in a delicate, pastel, gossamer of possibility.  The rose colored glasses get pulled out of summer storage, and life is brighter.  Really, the entire Lenten season has always been a meaningful time for me.  It’s a great opportunity to focus on some discipline,  take the time to go within, and develop a better understanding of who we are, and what our role is in this grand production called life. For those of us who are Christians, its a time of gratitude, hope, and rebirth. Some years, I’ve worked really hard at putting forth a little effort in a faith journey for Lent, and the by-product has been some amazing, magical moments. 

What I am not good at is this Lenten sacrifice stuff.  I haven’t been able to give up much of anything I love or have grown attached to.  Not for long.   Discipline isn’t one of my strengths.  The serpent almost always wins out in my case, making the cheese I swore off, look like the last supper to me.  I can withstand a a day or two of deprivation, then I am sneaking a smattering of grated cheese onto my salads, or melting it on my sandwich, because, well, after all, it's just one of the ingrediants in the meal!  I can justify anything to get my own way and generally make you believe it too.  There is this latent used car saleswoman lying beneath!  When I'm selling myself up the river, justifying away, that's  caused me some heartbreak over the years, but it seems to be one of the ways I learn my lessons too. I am learning...justifying doesn’t change facts, and my way isn’t always the best way. 

I have clearly learned, giving up tangible items for Lent isn’t really a productive way for me to grow my spiritual life.   Here’s how that conversation plays out between the serpent and the saint that lives inside my head. 

Me:  It’s just cheese!  It’s not like I’m a major oil company and have given up on my Lenten commitment to stop ripping off the consumer.   

My guardian angel:  It’s not about the cheese, Becky.  On a more practical level, it might be about developing new, healthier habits. Mostly, its the sacrifice and concentration in giving up something to make space for enlightenment and truth to enter.  

Me:   Cheese doesn’t take up much space. So, burning the cheese at the altar is going to make a difference, and world peace will ensue? 

My guardian angel:  Sigh.... I give up.  You’re clueless. We’ll try this again next year.

I think something actually did resonate a few years back,  and the idea of creating healthy new habits made sense. Especially if they were positive, spiritual practices.  Like not judging others.  I gave that up one year and my compassion barometer shot through the roof.  At least for a time.  Practice doesn’t make perfect.  Practice is a way of life.  One year I committed to reading Jim Bishop’s book, The Day Christ Died, during Lent.  My Easter that year was filled with a clearer meaning, admiration, and gratitude in walking through Christ’s last week on this earth.  Lots of great messages.  This year I am trying to stop the negative self-talk.  When I catch myself saying things like, "you idiot", or, "why aren’t you doing better", I bite my tongue.  There’s been a double benefit to making this my Lenten commitment this year.  Early on, my tongue got so sore from biting it when I would start spewing venom onto myself, it was hard to eat and I lost a few pounds!  The better byproduct is, this lady doesn’t criticize herself nearly as much anymore.  I think, if I wouldn’t say it to my own daughter or granddaughters, then I shouldn’t be saying it to, or about me.  These kinds of Lenten challenges seem to serve me better these days than giving up pop, chocolate, or old reruns of Sex in the City. 

It happens every year.  I get Easter blessings.  Those  “coincidences” and serendipities,  some years more profound than others, likely gifts from that poor guardian angel of mine who gave up on trying to get me to “cold turkey” the cheese for six weeks.  I can recall a few big, unbelievable God shots, that would be hard for anyone not to feel the message of Easter. One from 25 years ago.  A Mega Church’s Associate Minister, from the West Coast, called to check in...ON EASTER SUNDAY.... because I was having a rough year, the YEAR before.  I had called their crisis line in the middle of a dark night of the soul and he prayed with me then..... A year later, a healthier me, on the path to recovery, was able to tell him, on EASTER SUNDAY, his prayers worked. That is pretty potent stuff.  And he did not ask for a donation! He just wanted to let me know he had prayed for  me, all year.   Those are the years I am sure my angel decided I needed a big injection of Christ’s love.  Other years, simpler, quieter gifts; people touching in, things falling into place, messages passed down, notes of tenderness and care, reminders that I am important and loved.  From the cross, to the empty tomb, aimed right at my heart.  


This Easter week didn’t fail me.  Three phenomenal things happened...First, an act of generosity that brought me some monetary relief.  Second, a new opportunity to keep pursuing my passion.  And third, I was sent a living angel. This is the one that touched my heart, permanently.  This one came from my mom.  I got to meet her childhood friend, face to face. And as she looked at the scrapbooks of my life,  with me, she saw magic. I haven’t always viewed my life in that vein.  I liked what I saw in her eyes, and it reminded me that I am so incredibly blessed, and always have been.  My life has been an adventure, that’s for sure, and sometimes it’s seemed like a reckless joy ride. I am grateful for every bit of it though.  It’s contributed to the person I am today. I loved being witness to her apparent love for my mom;  her friend that left their hometown, but never left her heart.  

Maybe next year I WILL  give up cheese.  Well, maybe just chunk cheese, or imported cheese. Nahhhhh..... Probably better I should commit to not hitting the snooze alarm for Lent next year;  especially when it comes to my wild and wonderful life.  

WooHoo to the magic in the Easter message.  May you find it in all the ways it speaks to you through your experiences!  

WooHoo.... He is risen and so shall we!