Years and years of suffering, loss, and the insane cycle of returning to the source of my pain to find refuge dominated my life. Throughout most that time, I didn’t even know it. Things were not going my way, and as I continued to lose more and more it started to make less and less sense. Sometimes I would ask myself, “How can any good come of this? Is it even possible for me to receive help if I decided to seek it?” By the grace of God I have been able to experience the other side of addiction: recovery. As I sift through my past, especially the dark, confusing moments, I begin to see how my Higher Power, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, has redeemed me. The Easter season brings a greater awareness of this fact that I often overlook.
The risen Jesus on this day, Easter Sunday, brings with it a fulfillment of God’s promise to us through all of history. Salvation history is full of darkness and confusion. God works in people’s lives; sometimes they forget about it and turn to infidelity. They worship other gods, seek their own pleasure that runs contradictory to God’s plan (as is the case with Adam and Eve), and God sends someone or something to get them back on track. Christ, crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday, is the divine presence in our lives that rights all of our wrongs. Through Him we find redemption. Through Him we achieve true freedom and true happiness.
Divinity is not always easy to see in the moment. It surely was not for me, both as an active drunk and drug addict and, at more times than I would wish, since I’ve been sober. It took a miracle to get me sober, and I still can’t exactly tell you how it happened. What I know, however, is that the redemption that comes from the One who loved me before I was even formed, has been the plan in my salvation all along. That is the goodness, truth, and beauty behind the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He makes all things new, even when we can’t begin to see it or imagine it.
It is with gratitude that I offer you all a blessed Easter Sunday, and may your lives bear witness to the fact that God sent His only Son to live among us, die for our sins, rise again, and offer the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we may experience Him today and always!