A couple of years ago in the middle of writing my new book, The Rewired Brain, I had an unexpected, miraculous Easter morning. The thing that made the experience so surprising was the fact that I was so deep into writing my book, that I had completely forgotten that it was Easter Sunday. However, I did write down my thoughts and my encounter with Christ on that enchanting morning. Today, after rereading my reflections on that morning, I thought I would share them with you.
“In my hurry to get started this morning, I forget that today is Sunday. Then suddenly, I realize that it’s not just any Sunday, it’s Easter Sunday. I sit at the kitchen table looking out my window as dawn peeks lazily through the horizon. My phone tells me the sun will rise in nine minutes, enough time for me to grab a coat, warm my coffee, and run outside to my backyard to behold the morning’s glory.
As I shiver in the dawn chill, my eyes rest on the magnificent orange sky stretched low and speckled with bold hues of yellow and red. Staring at the bursts of color, I realize I am not wearing shoes. And I’m freezing sitting outside on this early April morning blanketed by 37 degrees of cold. Then, the chill dissipates. My attention is drawn toward the first brilliant rays of light as the sun begins to rise. A new day! A new dawn! Easter Sunday!
My sunrise rendezvous reminds me that Easter, the day on the Christian calendar where we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, signifies so much but for me individually it indicates that we are free. Free from my sin, yes; but it embodies so much more.
Easter symbolizes a brand new start for us all. It reminds us that we are liberated from all the mistakes and sorrows that we have made and have made our life so difficult. We are released from the prison that our world, and perhaps more importantly the jail cell that we have placed ourselves in. We are freed from the regrets and resentments of our past and the fears and expectations of our future.
And yes, our timeless spirits are now free from this temporal life and these flawed bodies. And when we die, we then will enter the next extraordinarily beautiful episode of our existence with Christ and all of those loved ones who have died before us. I love how my favorite author and mentor C.S. Lewis articulates this transition in the last paragraph of the final book (The Last Battle) in the The Chronicles of Narnia children’s series: “Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”
SO, I will get spend another magical day at the beach with my crazy, wonderful daddy who we lost way too early and enjoy another scrumptious piece of my Grandma Chilton’s apple pie as she smiles at me with delight and meet my little brother who died shortly after birth. Truly, the miracle of Easter is that we get to put all our bad stuff behind us and are assured through Christ that we will move forward into a bright new future ‘where every Chapter is better than the one before’. Can you imagine?”
Happy Easter Everyone! I love you all!
Dr. Ski Chilton 