Probably the most amazing thing about Easter and about Recovery is the reversal of expectations. The situation on Good Friday and Holy Saturday is stark and raw. Nothing is going to change this reality. People and their families who are in the whirlwind of addiction can imagine no end to the downward spiral that is smashing and destroying everything in its path. You wake up in the morning with expectations that everything is going to be the same and the most amazing thing has happened. There is an empty tomb. The one who was dead is alive. And even better than that…everything is going to be okay. Better than okay!
Who’d ‘a thunk it? Who would believe it? In one brush stroke the world view changes from black and white to color. It is like the scene from the Wonderful Wizard of Oz when the film changes from Kansas to Munchkinland. Color everywhere. The storm is over. The witch is dead. How did it all happen? The truth is that things had been set in motion for some time but we were unaware. The miracle was waiting for today. The miracle is today.
We respond to this shakeup with awe. The new world at our feet is boundless. The promises are fulfilled in each step forward. Recovery from addiction and salvation from bondage are virtually one in the same. Senator Barack Obama talks about the Audacity of Hope. There is also an Audacity of Easter and an Audacity of Recovery. Life is new and we have the power of change in every step that we take.
