Easter

Every morning the temperature drops right after the Sun rises.   Scientists call this effect radiation cooling, but I think it’s the daily struggle between Light and Darkness where Darkness tries one last grasp to seize the day.  This struggle happens every morning except on Easter Sunday when the temperature rises with the Sun to push out Darkness, radiating clear warmth to us all.  Easter reminds us, in spite of our uncertainties, that Light has dominion over Darkness and Faith will bring our long journey of doubt to an end.

In our private moments we often wonder about our troubles and say to ourselves, “will this ever end?”  No one ever answers you directly, so you assume no one is listening.  When I was at Notre Dame I would walk past The Grotto late at night in the Winter and see fellow students covered in snow praying in the candlelight,  never knowing for sure what was on their plates.  I always assumed it was grades and thought that it wouldn’t matter how hard you prayed, nothing was changing the test result from earlier in the day.   But twenty years later on a MBA recruiting trip I ended up at The Grotto myself around 2:00 AM in the Winter covered in snow.  I had Stage 4 Lymphoma at the time which carried a very low probability of me turning the corner.  I didn’t pray for myself that morning, but instead asked that Diane and the boys be kept in the Light on whatever path life took them.

Spring is the time when our hidden paths covered in Winter materialize along with new horizons we couldn’t see before.  The following April I finally ended 6 months of chemo coupled with serious doubts the treatment had any positive effect or just made things worse.  On Monday of Holy Week  I had a PET scan and on Good Friday a follow up visit with my oncologist, Mark Moskowitz.  Without saying much he read the PET report to himself for about two minutes which seemed like two days, swiveled around in his chair and announced, “All your tumors are gone; they melted away.”  

It’s been nearly twenty years again since that day, but I remember that particular Easter with great fondness.  Our house celebrated with joy the Good News that Spring, like we do every Easter and plan on doing for many Easters to come.  Our family’s message at Easter is that no matter the darkness pervading our world with its data, science, and disenchantment; living is about seeking the Light and enjoying it’s warmth that we can’t see, but clearly feel.  Peace.