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Opinion Across The Fence Christ's resurrection cause for joy This week is officially "spring break" for students in Canyon, Amarillo, Bushland and a host of others here in the Panhandle and around the area.
Spring and all its promises are an inherent part of this week. Unfortunately, at least in the city limits of Amarillo, the concept was under the weather on Monday morning. A gray, soggy sky dampened the windshield and my spirit sagged. A biting north wind bitterly reminded me that Panhandle seasons don't coincide with anyone's calendar. There was no sleeping in for the Greer gang that day. Zee was packed and ready for a week-long counselor-in-training session at the YMCA. DJ was accelerating toward another hour behind the wheel with his driver's training instructor. My day was complicated by the fact that they were going in opposite directions. Since I'm the official family chauffeur for at least a few more months, my goal was to get them where they needed to be and to put myself in front of the computer as quickly as possible. For those of you unfamiliar with the capricious and demanding nature of a weekly newspaper, Mondays and Tuesdays are affectionately known as "production days." That means deadlines are looming and everything from raw copy to camera-ready art must be gathered, sorted, edited, proofed, paginated, proofed again and tied up into a tight, tidy little paper that hits the streets early Thursday morning. Luckily for us, we've turned the tense routine into a solid, productive almost foolproof procedure. That means some staff members, including our illustrious and deserving publisher, get the break implied in this annual seven-day stretch. I'll confess to a minor twinge of envy on the way to my computer. Spring is making its official entrance this week. Bright yellow clumps of daffodils tease the dry, bleached grass. Robins poke about the yard chirping, looking for worms and no doubt making plans for a new nest or at least a major remodeling of last year's abode. Here and there I see patches of green. And, lover of winter and cold that I am, Monday morning's dreary atmosphere dragged me toward despondency. Maybe I've been spoiled by those recent miraculous weeks sprinkled with warm windless days and crisp evenings under a star-speckled awning. My imagination turned south toward the memory of sandy beaches, balmy breezes and the ebb and flow of the Gulf's warm waters. The boys and I made the trek to South Padre Island two summers ago to celebrate my speed-limit birthday. (Just so you know, it was the federally-mandated limit of years gone by, not the fast-paced limit currently posted on Texas interstate highways.) We enjoyed the journey and the relaxation so much that we keep talking about a return trip. But South Padre isn't the place for me this week. Right now the uncluttered beaches I remember are littered with thousands of kids from colleges and universities across the nation. The annual celebrations sprinkled with sex, alcohol and wild abandon are reminiscent of ancient rituals involving fertility and rebirth after the darkness and death associated with the chilling cold of winter. Easter, arriving on Sunday just days after the spring equinox, brings an altogether different image of death and rebirth. According to the underlying principles of Christianity, the resurrection vanquished the finality of death and brings continual hope and restoration. Growing up in a fundamental Baptist church, the fact that Jesus made a conscious choice to be a sacrifice for humanity wasn't really covered. And the image of God as the harsh judge and dispenser of punishment was never abated by the gentleness illustrators captured in Christ's eyes. Years later, at a Maundy Thursday service, the reality of the choices made by a man named Jesus suddenly and inexorably came to life for me. With that hope firmly in both my hands and my heart, it suddenly doesn't matter what the weather may be doing this week, or where my friends are traveling. What matters to me is the underlying love that my God, my Brother, my Savior and my Example personally manifested more than 2000 years ago. Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) That statement comes to life for me every year as I watch the miraculous rebirth around me, and my heart leaps toward the light of God's unconditional love. Happy Easter. May God bless each of you with light, love and much laughter. Kathie Greer: Columnist and consultant for the Amarillo Independent. She can be reached at kathie@amarilloindy.com. E-mail
comments about this story Posted: March 20, 2008
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