How I Rediscovered Faith through Easter

I didn’t grow in a particularly religious family. Yes, we went to a Sunday Service now and then but that was when I was too little to understand anything. Once my parents divorced, I never stepped foot inside a Church again.

I strayed further away from faith with time. In college years, you would find me at a punk rock concert, a bar or a library reading the likes of Friedrich Nietzsche but never in a religious setting. Not even within a mile of it.

It wasn’t like I detested faith or looked down upon organized religion but back then, other things were more important.

But life moves fast. 7 years separated from my graduation, I found myself a homemaker and mother to a beautiful baby boy. Of course, I considered myself lucky to have a loving husband Chris and a little bundle of joy who thinks a world of me. However, deep inside I knew something was missing.

And then it happened. One evening, I had invited the neighbors over at dinner. They were a newly-wed couple, both from Vietnam. While the men talked politics and honey badgers (no idea how that came up), the conversation between us ladies took a different path. It just so happens that Easter was around the corner and I had put a small DIY decoration in the living room. While appreciating the dyed eggs, Tran, my neighbor asked me what they represented.

I went silent for a good ten seconds because I didn’t have a clue. But this particular incident got me thinking about how I have embraced the tradition of Easter but have never looked at it spiritually.

Exploring the Spiritually on Easter

Easter in my home is all about decorations, egg hunting and candies. The same is true for many households across the country. Turns out, an average American spends $151 on Easter. There is a huge commercial side to this event and due to this, people end up losing the perspective.

But Easter is more than just about bunnies and pastel colors. The week that follows the event has a string of events which encapsulates the spirit of sacrifice. What is now observed as the Holy Week saw Jesus give Passover meal a completely new meaning when in the upper room, he prepared himself and his followers for his death during the Last Supper.

Jesus knew he would be betrayed by one of his disciples, beaten, tortured and hung on a cross. Yet, he gave the greatest sacrifice the world has ever known. Identifying of matzah and a cup of wine as his body soon to be sacrificed and his blood soon to be shed, he asked his followers to remember his sacrifice was for their sins.

While Good Friday is considered as a day of mourning, many celebrate it as a victory over sin. Easter arrives a day after Good Friday and it signifies the resurrection of Christ. Like a bright morning after a bleak night, Easter represents something all of us need –it represents hope.

Seeking Hope in Lord’s Words

As someone who never took religion seriously, the story of Easter made me look at religion from a completely new perspective. It made me realize that the message of hope in the scripture is powerful beyond imagination.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. [Jeremiah 29:11 ]

When my son was born, I sought treatment for postpartum depression. The therapy helped me get back on my feet and perform my duties as a mother. However, I have continued to face anxiety and depression since then. And although I’ve read a million self-help books, they fail to create any lasting impact on my mind. They fail to get me out from a dark place I regularly find myself in.

But reading the scripture fills me up with a different feeling.

The sacrifice of Jesus, the courage of Mother Mary and the valor of Saint Joseph inspire me to the person I can possibly be. Today, I am a regular at the local church and I am trying the best to do right by God and my family. And I have a dyed egg to thank for all of this.