Resurrection is Liberation!

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April 4, 2022

Resurrection is Liberation!

Hey Family,

It’s the most wonderful time of the yearrrrrrr….let the Easter fashion show BEGIN! Easter outfit–CHECK! Hair DID?! CHECK CHECK! IG photo shoot is starting in….5, 4. 3. 2…because if your family isn’t color coordinating on Easter Sunday, are y’all really doing it right?

I don’t know about y’all, but my mother, Dr. Andrea Lena Maria Decuir Rye, is a legendary seamstress. She used to make us MATCHING outfits for Easter. She even made my Pamela doll a matching Easter outfit with us one year. I was laced (literally) all the way down to the white patent leather shoes and the white gloves. Sadly, I am lacking photo evidence of the matching, but not the memories (things the Tik Tok generation will NEVER say). Mommy: you already know this, but the outfits are just one reason you will forever be the real MVP!

Before we flex on the ‘gram and step into our pastel colored dresses, over the top hats, and creased suits we have to first show some love to the history of Easter in the Black Church.Historically, Sunday was a sacred time for enslaved people to finally get the chance to be with their families, even if for one day. Easter Sunday not only became *the* religious holiday for the Black Church, but a time for black families to connect with each other. Easter is our time to reclaim all the joys that were too often stripped away, Easter is our time to shine (at least, one of them). Unapologetically!!

Back in the day, when Sunday School was not an option and singing in the youth choir was a rite of passage, our Easter experiences served as a kind of presentation to society. Easter speeches prepared us to articulate our voices and proudly share our words and brilliance with an audience, the applause served as an affirmation from a congregation full of faces that looked just like ours, and each Easter picture we took was not just a photo, but a snapshot of our growth throughout the years.

For us, Easter is a time for a spiritual rebirth, a resurrection with a literal and figurative change to bring in new life. When I reflect on the power of God’s word and the ultimate sacrifice, I think about how liberating forgiveness can be, and the new life that comes through resurrection. These concepts begin with understanding and knowing that investing in yourself is the true meaning behind resurrection, and for me, one of the true meanings of Easter in the Black Church.

The Black Church has a testimony, even in times in crisis, when inequities, racism, and supremacy are looking us in the eye, we have the ability to rely on our faith and the audacity to depend on the hope instilled in us by our ancestors. This Easter I invite you to be diligent in your words, diligent in your forgiveness and diligent in your spiritual, emotional and physical healing. I challenge you to step into a new season with the same precision, tenacity, and diligence we have when we step into the church with our perfectly curated Easter outfits.

Annabelle Decuir (“Gram”) pictured back in the day! My grandmother is now 104!

Forgiveness is Liberation

One of my favorite Instagram profiles, Black Liturgies by Cole Arthur Riley, regularly SEES and speaks directly to the Black body. I am so grateful that my good sister shares her gift with the world. This post tells us how imperative forgiveness is–even for SELF! There is so much freedom in forgiveness, for yourself and for others. Forgiveness is a form of liberation that must all experience to fully appreciate life’s journey..

I say this to myself as I share this message with you: Forgive yourself for the moments you had when you didn’t know any better, allow yourself to feel what you need to feel, and leave it there, so that you may indulge in new experiences that will lead to an even better version of yourself.

Redemption is Resurrection

As many of us take this time to consider the power of the Resurrection, may we also remember the power of the cross. There are things in our lives that must die (literally and figuratively) in order for a rebirth to truly occur. Black people and people of color in particular have lived under the threat of martyrdom for too long. We have been conditioned to believe that our only power comes with our death–that our power is detached from our joy. Like seriously, JESUS ALREADY DIED ON THE CROSS FOR US, SO WHY ARE YOU KILLING US?! Well, that is another sermon for another day. While I am not saying that we will not regularly experience the pain that is associated with growth, I am saying that joy no longer has to be a distant miracle for us. As this year continues to give us opportunities to tap into, discover, and uncover the truest version of ourselves–may we see this important three part process as the resurrection we deserve. We cannot experience the new without shedding the old. We cannot experience the new while holding onto the past. We cannot experience the new by looking behind us. The resurrection is about trusting the present as a gift. The resurrection is about having faith that your latter days will be greater than your former. The resurrection is OUR new beginning.

Welcome to YOUR Spring time!