Renewal. Reviving. Refreshing. Resurrection. These words are used often during the season of Easter. Especially resurrection. For those of us who have experienced the death of a loved one, conversations about new life and eternal life can be difficult, even for those of us who have a strong faith. On one hand, the promise of new life, whether it be from the budding of flowers and trees to remind us that each year life returns to earth, or if the promise is founded in a spiritual belief that what we experience on this earth is not the end, but really the beginning, we can be encouraged. We can be lifted up with the belief in the power of renewed life. On the other hand, the return of flowers and the celebration of the Resurrection can prove to be bitter reminders that we no longer experience the physical presence of our loved one. We grieve all over again, and sometimes our hope and faith become tarnished in the process. As I have said many times, it is all in how you choose to frame the experience. We will feel the pain of the loss of our loved one. It is actually healthy to feel that pain, to express that pain and to find a healthy way to address that pain. We can choose bitterness and resentment. We can choose acceptance and celebration. But we do the choosing. I choose to believe and to hope that one day I will see my daughter again. If there are tears at that reunion, I believe they will be tears of joy and not tears of grief. I believe that her spirit lives on, and my role as her father is to now celebrate and honor her life by celebrating and honoring her memory. And so I celebrate Easter. I celebrate the Resurrection. I celebrate the renewal of the earth that springtime brings. I celebrate the refreshing and reviving of the earth as flowers blossom, trees bud and birds return to sing their songs of renewed life. Let Easter renew your belief. Let the Resurrection be real for you and your loved one. Let new life in and experience the joy that awaits us in eternity. Written by Mark Mikel
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