Sometime in the summer, you'll walk down a sidewalk, and you might see a tiny crack in the concrete and a small green plant springing up from the break in the surface. That plant is vulnerable and easy to crush or pull out. But that tender vine represents greater work that’s taking place underneath the surface. Nature is eventually going to win out over the pavement. That bit of grass growing through the pavement is a challenge to the status quo. A seemingly fragile hope breaks through an impenetrable surface. 

The hope of Easter is this: An unshakeable belief in death, destruction, pain, and loneliness can be broken. 

Will planet Earth ever enjoy world peace? Will every child have the opportunity to go to school and have all the necessities of life? Will the abundant resources of the earth be shared with everyone? Easter answers yes to all these queries. But unfortunately, most of us answer no to those questions because we believe the world is on a downward spiral on some level.

Ancient Scriptures disagree with us; the foundations can be shaken.

"Every Valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all people will see it together." Isaiah 40: 4-5

To believe in the power of the Easter story is to live a life that defies expectations of death, destruction, pain, suffering, and loneliness. Those who embrace Easter hold the conviction that hope and change are sewn into the very fabric of the universe.

Be kind to someone different, be generous with those around you, and create hope. 

Make it difficult for people to put faith in what's wrong with the world.

Friend, thank you for reading, now go plant seeds of hope.