Easter is coming and there are so many fun things to look forward to. Baskets filled with colorful eggs. New clothes to dress up in. The fresh smell of spring in the air, unless of course you’re allergic to all the pollen, like I am – ha ha. The promise of a new season budding before our very eyes.

I can remember, however, a spring that wasn’t filled with this kind of fresh excitement for life. It was the spring of 2011 and my daughter had weathered the most difficult school year she had ever had, and ever would have. Needless to say, the school year had been so horrific that it had led to our being on the brink of a Due Process suit against our school district.

Abbey was a mess, and because of that so was I. They say as a mom, “You are only as happy as your saddest child”. Oh, how true this can be. Abbey was overwhelmed with anxiety from all that had occurred that year, and this led to a level of agitation we had never seen before. She wasn’t sleeping. She wasn’t eating. She wasn’t voiding. She wasn’t talking. And she was lashing out at us continuously. After weeks of this I was exhausted and broken.

Then God did something miraculous. He used my breakdown to lead me to a breakthrough. No our circumstances didn’t change overnight, but my faith in God did. You can read more of the story (here). Like a loving dad, He held me close and comforted me in the midst of my nightmare. He brought joy in the midst of my sorrow. And He provided hope on the hardest journey of my life.

I once heard a story about vineyards. It was said that the best grapes are grown from the hardest ground. The ground which is the hardest to breakthrough. For some reason this struggle deep down in the dark rocky soil is the very circumstance required to bring forth the fruit of the vine which is the most prized. Isn’t nature fascinating?

We see the same sort of thing all around us in the springtime. Everything springing to life after a long dark and cold winter. The flower bulb which has been hidden deep beneath the snow begins to make its way up through the now thawing soil out into the light to bloom once again. The soil itself which contains broken down bits of old discarded food and even worm castings bring forth all kinds of new life. God has written his story of love all around us in stories like this. Stories of breakdowns leading to breakthroughs.

The most treasured story of all, to me, is the story of easter. Not the easter filled with bright colored eggs, pretty hats and gloves, and brunch around a beautifully set table. But the very first easter on which Jesus miraculously rose to life again. The greatest breakdown of all time lead to the greatest breakthrough. Imagine being one of the 12 apostles. You have been with Jesus for 3 years. You’ve walked side by side, lived life together, and participated in a ministry that you felt sure would end in a triumphant overthrowing of the oppressive roman government, and instead he was killed. The bible shares the apostles’ reactions. They felt all kinds of fear, depression, and grief over the loss of a leader they had thought would always be there. They were broken. But then God provided a breakthrough. The ultimate breakthrough. Out of that dark time in their lives and out of that dark tomb, Jesus rose from death to life, and he conquered death for all eternity. Through his perfect payment for our sins and because of His great love for us, we can now be raised to spiritual life from spiritual death, and we can be saved from all our brokenness and sin.

God is so good. He always provides a way. We can trust in Him. There is no breakdown that he cannot use to bring about a breakthrough.

Happy Easter!