While cleaning out my mom’s attic a few years ago, I came across some Easter bonnets my sisters and I once wore. There was a lavender-, a green-, and a pink-trimmed one, the last of which I’m sure was mine because my favorite color is pink, and I’ll just bet it matched a dress that my grandmother made. She was a wonderful seamstress, my gram, and every Easter, she fashioned identical dresses for my two sisters, my cousin, and me. I can still recall the smell of crisp cotton, the feel of new stitches and Gram’s fingers brushing against my skin as she secured pretty buttons and lace.

For this reason, among others, Easter has always been my favorite holiday (holy day). True, it doesn’t have the flash and sparkle of Christmas, but to me, it’s that very quality that makes Easter so special. It is a graceful holiday, a humble one, even though in a strictly religious sense, Easter is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, the most significant day in the liturgical year, a time of Resurrection and rebirth on so many levels. By all rights, it should shout its importance from on high, but then again, most meaningful things don’t need to shout to be noticed. What’s more, the spirit of Easter shouldn’t be limited to just this one day. Its essence is part of a bigger prayer, affording us untold chances for renewal the entire year through.

For when it comes down to it, we are all responsible for fashioning new stitches.

And like Gram, who created those lovely (and loving!) long-ago dresses, we must all piece together the disparate threads of our own destinies. By grace, and in communion with the Divine, we are empowered to build upon our pasts, to reach into our futures, and to begin our present lives anew.

Happy Easter, my friends, happy spring!

Until next time,

Theresa