02/19/2026
From Advent to Easter: Holding Joy and Sorrow Together
My goodness… I do tend to go stretches without posting here, and for that I apologize.
As we begin 2026, I find myself reflecting on the rhythm of our church calendar. We have just walked through Advent — preparing our hearts and celebrating with great joy the coming of Christ. And now, only weeks later, we find ourselves in Lent, quietly watching and waiting as we move toward the Resurrection.
What a wide range of emotion in just a few short months.
Jubilation gives way to sorrow… which gives way again to jubilation.
But how do we reconcile that?
How do we truly hold both the celebration of His birth and the weight of His sacrifice?
Perhaps reconciliation begins in the quiet awareness of our own hearts.
When we look honestly at ourselves, we know we have fallen short. We know we have sinned. We have spoken when we should have been silent. Stayed silent when we should have spoken. Judged when we should have extended grace. Thought things we should not have thought.
God knows this.
He knows our hearts fully.
And yet — before we even think to ask — He offers forgiveness. He extends grace. Not because we deserve it, but because of the gift Jesus gave to all of us.
It is almost unimaginable.
I have three sons and many children my heart claims as “mine.” I know their goodness. I know their hearts. I know they would lay down their lives for those they love deeply.
But would I?
Would I lay down my life for those I do not know?
Would I willingly bear suffering for the sins of the world?
If I am honest, the answer is no.
And that does not make me less a Christian. It makes me human.
I am a woman who strives to love well. I carry forgiveness in my heart. I try daily to lead with grace, kindness, and joy. But I do not always love as Jesus loved. I do not always choose patience first. I do not always extend mercy before judgment.
And so I continue to grow.
What steadies me is this: I strive each day to be the daughter, mother, sister, friend, and leader God calls me to be — not because I am perfect, but because Christ was willing to lay down His life for me.
God’s grace covered me long before I was ever formed in my mother’s womb. He knew my story. He wrote every chapter, every page, every word. And He already knew my flaws, my missteps, and my shortcomings — yet He chose me anyway.
So as Easter approaches, I will remember.
I will remember His love.
His forgiveness.
His outstretched hand.
When I walk through the Stations of the Cross and feel my heart break once again, I will remember that His suffering was not the end of the story. Love was.
He offered that love freely, without reservation, so that we might live — not only in the promise of the Eternal Kingdom, but here on this earth — in joy, compassion, grace, and forgiveness.
And that is the reconciliation.
Happy Lent. Love to you all.
Lissa
