Through the hardest ground

As the ham is being digested from Sunday dinner, the sights are set upon the continuation of spring sports, Carolinians have started to don short pants and spring windbreakers. It can only mean one thing. It is springtime in Bladen County.

North Carolina is sometime said to be the land of blonde hair and blue ears, (citing the Martin Luther King Parade in January… brr,) but with the temperature beginning to reside north of the freezing mark, it’s so easy to forgive Mother Nature for what she did to us last winter. After all, she is offering an olive branch and is not turning our breath to vapor. Well, at least not after 11 a.m.

Forgiveness. For us in a state where we still have snow in the mountains to an ocean where there are already brave souls trying to get their surfing on, it is no mistake that Easter comes between the seasons. All is forgiven and forgotten. The accidents, the ice storms, the power failures and the other details that winter dumps on us.

And we go forward. To do that, though, there are very two important components that they say will lead all of us to a healthier life, family, community and country. It is forgiving and forgetting. Or as they say in New York, “Awwww… fawgeddabauwdit.”

That is all well and good on the forgiveness part because as it has been quoted throughout the ages, “not forgiving someone is like drinking bitter poison and waiting for the other person to die.” And, it’s hard to go through life carrying baggage. Nothing can chain you more securely to your past than not forgiving someone who has hurt you or wronged you. Only then can you free yourself from the hurts of those shadows.

Do you think that Jesus was just being hard on us when he told us that he loved the gifts we gave, but then turned around and told them to leave them at the altar until we went and reconciled to the ones we were at odds with.

Matthew 5:23-24 emphasizes the importance of reconciliation before offering religious gifts. It teaches that if you are at the altar to offer a gift and realize you have a grievance with your brother, you should first resolve the conflict and then offer your gift.

The exact scriptures read: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Do you have some great gift to offer your loved ones? Do you have some great gift you are going to surprise the community with?

I can’t tell you what to do Biblically, but I can tell you that IF you want your “gift” – your “effort” – your “word” – your actions to bring joy, anointing, power, prosperity and a lasting legacy – then remember that your gift, your effort, your word – HAS to be accompanied by an action. The action of conciliation.

As for the other component to “forget,” we really should be celebrating our memory and using our minds to help us go on into a life that is now and a future that is found only in tomorrow. Remembering something is not a bad thing if you remember that you don’t have to live there anymore. Utilizing the past will give us wisdom from the mistakes, mercy for the wounds, and perspective to see how far we’ve come and how quickly the journey passes. We must remember that famous line put forth just recently.

“We can do better.”

This is a week for miracles. It is a week when the impossible can be accomplished. When the pain of yesterday’s cross is erased in the shadow of today’s empty tomb. Oh, the bunnies were cute and colors were very pastel and the ham was very tasty and I am not going to be thumping you over the head with cliches’ although I do love the one about being all about the lamb and not the bunny.

But just as we remember the reason for the season at Christmas… we must remember that was the beginning of His trip to a very bloody crucifixion. But on Easter (Pascha in Greek – meaning transition) He began His trip to the throne.

And yeah, we’ve gotten ourself into some pretty deep mud with all the hatred, jealousy, gossip, backbiting and stubbornness. But this is a season for humility. For being able to say… “Father, forgive them, they don’t understand what their words and actions are doing to themselves.”

It is a time to search deep inside and find that innocence of a little child buried so deep inside of your heart. It’s a time to learn to hug again. It’s a time to learn to smile again. It’s a time to learn to love again… those who may not deserve it or want it… but nevertheless. It’s time to make a stand and find your true north.

This is the season to become new. To come forth. To grow. And to enjoy. Life is too short to be slowed down by someone else’s nastiness. We challenge you this spring. Each time you see a new plant springing up from the ground, think of someone else you want to release through your own forgiveness and remember that as you release them, you also release yourself.

We can change our environment… but look in the mirror – it starts with you. I need to look in the mirror – it starts with me.