Easter

For the past four years, I haven't been able to celebrate Easter in San Antonio with my family, usually because I had multiple exams or something school-related the following week up at school. So I would just celebrate it with my college family. I'd always go to church with my Catholic Center family during Holy Week, leading up to Easter dinner at the house of my sophomore roommate Rachel's family in South Austin. Her parents always made us wonderful food, followed by a (very competetive) egg hunt. It was such a picture of acceptance and love, in the most subtle of ways. Though not everyone was Christian or even believed in God, the generosity of Rachel's parents and the love we showed for each other was still very indicative of the spirit of the Resurrection, of course on a much smaller scale.

This year, I spent Easter with my biological family. There was no distraction of looming school projects overshadowing the festivities, but there was the anticipation and excitement of going on my mission trip. Holy Thursday was my last day of work at the Anvil Herald, signaling an end to the old. The Easter season comes with a promise of renewal: a new life in Central America, new people, new challenges. This week is spent in feverish preparation, with a sense of hope for what the future holds. Of course, with so many changes, it's hard not to think about the past, and what will be going on at home while I'm gone, all the people I'll miss and events I'll miss out on.

Easter is a reminder, however, that the past is necessarily connected to the future, the bridge that spans the two. Everything I've learned, at school, at work, through relationships, through movies I've seen, books I've read, even happenstance, is important to what comes ahead; and I can't help but do what I'm doing because it's part of the next step in a larger plan. Meanwhile, Love is that thread that is continuous through it all.

So have a happy Easter, welcome the changes, but cherish your past.