Easter in Your Eyes

You ask if I believe in Easter...

I see Easter in understanding eyes, able to offer the message of "You are of value. You matter to me", to one who feels alone and of little worth, from one who has been there.

I see Easter in the hopeful eyes of one who has felt the pain of rejection, separation, or abandonment, and is now daring to trust again.

I see Easter in the newly peaceful eyes of those who have suffered the torments of loving an alcoholic or other troubled person, and have overcome their own deep anxiety and immobility by learning to let go with love.

I see Easter in the serene eyes of the elderly who have put away their struggling and have become reconciled to the inevitabilities of life and death.

I see Easter in the tired, tearful eyes of one who can say, "I'm lonely. I miss you. Perhaps I gave up too soon. Can we try again?"

I see Easter in the caring, pleading eyes of one who offers, "I'm sorry. I know you are hurting. I believe I may have projected my own faults on you. I'd like to try to regain your trust."

I see Easter in the honest eyes of the once closeted gay, whose yearning for authenticity has led to self-acceptance and wholeness.

I see Easter in the thankful eyes of those who once laden with guilt, as the adulterous woman to whom Jesus offered no condemnation, are able to at last forgive themselves.

I see Easter in the searching eyes of the disillusioned youth who though perplexed with the crumbling of his childhood faith, continues to search for meaning and purpose.

I see Easter in the opened eyes of one who through a change in perception has moved from hopelessness to seeing possibilities, no less miraculous than when the blind man trustingly came to Jesus and found healing.

I see Easter in the accepting eyes of one who faced with a dreaded illness has weathered all the natural human reactions and stages, and has reached "Thy will be done" with a sense of peace.

I see Easter in the loving eyes of one whose journey of self-discovery enables him to see beneath the self-protective veneer that I have constructed to shield my fearful "child"...but which also often disguises the Christ within.

I see Easter in the patient eyes of those who have cared enough to take time to know me... trusted enough to allow me to know them.. and risked enough to share intimately with me.

You ask if I believe in Easter...

If somehow the resurrection of Jesus could be proven to be historically true, but had no significance in our lives today, what possible difference would it make? For me, the indisputable truth of the first Easter story, literal or not, has meaning and validity, each time I see Easter in your eyes.