by Cassie Cooper

Do you want to know one of my favorite things about Easter? After celebrating my risen Savior, I love that Easter takes place (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere!) in the spring. The spring is a time of new growth, thawing out from the coldness of winter, cleaning, opening windows, welcoming longer days, spotting baby animals in the wild, and stepping into a sense of fresh beginnings. For me, spring walks hand-in-hand with Easter to represent the core of our faith: resurrection. Jesus rose from the dead to bring us new life.

But I love that God didn’t stop with just one resurrection. We serve a God who is in the business of resurrection. This absolutely refers to each of us placing our faith in Jesus and dying to our sin and old ways of living. But I believe it also extends to promises that feel dead. Dreams and desires. Longings. Passions.

I know the feeling when you experience what seems like death to dreams, passions, promises, and desires. The pain and loss are real. But so is our resurrecting God.

I want to share with you something I wrote a few years ago. In the midst of grief, I wrote this short post the day before Easter Sunday.  

Saturday. The agonizing day in between. The grief of Friday was still raw and fresh, and Sunday—the glorious fulfillment of so many promises—seemed far away. Saturday. A day of grief, waiting, unknowns, and prayers to keep the faith and believe in the promises. I understand the world of Saturday. The moment of grief is over yet it lingers so painfully close as you cling to the promises you know are coming. It’s the agonizing in between. But no matter how fresh the grief or how far away the promises, God is working. We serve a God who is in the business of resurrection. The loss is real but oh how wonderful will that new life be when the in between is handed over to the Resurrector. It’s long, it’s painful, and it’s laced with uncertainty but in the hands of God, it will be made beautiful.

Whatever deaths you may be experiencing this spring, the pain and loss are real. It is okay to grieve but my friend, never forget we get to grieve with hope in our God who brings new life into death. Dare to ask Him what new life He is bringing out of loss. Dare to trust Him as He does some spring cleaning in your heart. Dare to believe that He will bring resurrection life.

 “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

–Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)

Cassie Cooper lives in Fort Worth, Texas, but she’s a Colorado girl at heart. She’s the author of The Simplest Thing… and has a passion for writing and speaking with a message of helping others find hope by embracing simplicity and resting in relationship with the Father. She works with the local church and partners with Exhale Women’s Ministry as a contributing author. After her love for Jesus, spending time with family and friends, a good cup of coffee, and authentic street tacos rank high on her priority list.