Today is Easter, which obviously is an important day for a lot of Christians. But regardless of your beliefs, the renewal that spring brings provides so much hope and promise.
I was born in Michigan (where it is super-cold) and moved to Florida to start middle school. When I lived in Florida, I loved being warm in the winter, but missed spring terribly. Here in Kentucky, where I’ve lived since college, we have the pleasure of spring without the extremes of winter. It is a great reminder of the miracle of new growth after periods of gloom, cold, and difficulty.
I shared some of the lessons of spring with our team today as it shows up in their actions, and that of most of our clients and partners.
Today, I’m grateful for people who:
- Sacrifice their own comforts, desires, and power to help others grow;
- Work to more fully live instead of simply living to work;
- Respond with understanding, grace, and forgiveness when wronged instead of returning pain with malice or retribution;
- Help others carry a load too heavy for them, and provide the resources needed to to fulfill immediate needs and expand untapped potential;
- Persist in difficult circumstances to bring about healing and positive outcomes.
Each Easter, the last line of the poem from Wendell Berry that hangs in my office keeps ringing through my head. It ends with the exhortation to “Practice resurrection,” reminding us that we’re here to live for a purpose greater than “what computes,” what only advances our own ends, and that our actions today have ripple effects both in the present and far into the future.
Practice Resurrection.
Bud
