A Grateful Outlook this Easter

Warning: The following article is faith-laden.

It is with a full heart that I approach this Easter. At Christmas, it is with a spirit of anticipation that I embrace the season, while at Easter I am more aware of the sacrifice made on my behalf.

I cannot tell a lie: the dramatization of the Easter story as told through the film “The Passion of the Christ” brought home for me the power of the Easter story – the story of death and resurrection. It touched me on so many different levels: as a Christian, as a woman, as a mother. I remember that after the credits began to roll I was so shaken that I couldn’t get up to leave the theatre. I just sat there, numb.

At Christmas, everything is so bright, so happy. It is a time of fun, of parties, of getting ready for something great to happen. And that’s appropriate. For Christians, it’s a time to get ready to celebrate the birth of the savior. For non-Christians, it’s also a time of celebration, of grabbing an opportunity to rejoice in the friendships and families that bind us together.

But much of the Easter season is somber. I was brought up Catholic and I remember how I dreaded going into Lent, deciding what I was going to give up for 40 long days. Everything in the church was draped in purple cloth for those 40 days. The sadness culminated on Good Friday with the commemoration of Jesus being betrayed, then hung on the cross. Of course, the joy we felt on Easter Sunday wiped most of those 40 days from our minds as we shared in the glory of discovering the empty tomb, of learning of the resurrection.

I am doubly lucky; my best friend is Jewish so I’ve had the chance to share Passover, too. What a wonderful opportunity for us to not only embrace our faiths, celebrating two significant occasions in our religions, but to share what those occasions mean to each of us.

The somber attitude with which I approach Easter this year is tempered by the gratefulness I feel when reflecting on those things for which I am blessed. Not the least of these is this newspaper.

It is hard to express how thankful I am to everyone who supports the Crescenta Valley Weekly. The candidates running for the Glendale City Council and the Glendale Unified School District have entrusted the Crescenta Valley Weekly with the job of getting out their message, of relaying those ideals that they hold dear. I hope their efforts are rewarded by a solid turn out at the polls on Tuesday.

And I hope that whoever wins on Tuesday remembers the foothills. Too often, I think, we up here are lumped into a category of the “rich folks on the hill,” the residents of “Happy Valley.” I don’t know about you, but I haven’t felt very rich these last couple of years. In fact, being the owner of a business started during the recession (2009) in an industry of which its very existence was in question, I’ve felt vulnerable and scared.

But we’re coming out of the recession and the CV Weekly is strong, vibrant and relevant … like the community we’re so proud to be a part of.

To voters in this election, I recommend that you carefully read the responses by the candidates in this and last week’s issues of the CV Weekly. Learn what those running for office think about the foothills community, then consider carefully when casting your ballot.

It is a privilege and your responsibility.

  robin goldsworthy