It makes sense that we celebrate Easter in spring. Even more than New Year’s Day, this is the time of year that’s full of fresh starts and new possibilities.

Today, the day after we remember that the tomb is empty, that He is risen, that we have been saved by God’s all-encompassing, incomprehensible love, is the perfect time for starting over.

Of course, though the timing makes post-Easter spring ripe for change, for growth, for hope, actually taking those steps can be a little harder. Monday mornings don’t necessarily feel as warm and fuzzy as Sunday mornings, do they?

But the Bible reminds us that, even after the pastel glow of Easter has faded, the Lord has an abundance of mercy for us – and those mercies are new every single morning. I wrote about how He’s been teaching me about that kind of grace lately at Mothers of Daughters.

[I should tell you, though, that the entire time I was writing it I was thinking of this commercial from Walmart. I guess in my pop culture-soaked brain, it’s not a big jump from “grace for everyone!” to “gigs all around!”]

Months ago, as my husband and I talked AGAIN about our older daughter’s behavior, I confessed something I’d realized about the situation. “I can’t start fresh,” I whispered. “My frustrations just keep building and building, and there’s no break, no relief, no blank slate.”

The conversations about our daughter’s disobedience and disrespect had begun bringing other issues to the table – namely, our tempers. We realized that our short fuses were contributing to the problem, but we didn’t know how to fix it. And I knew that this fresh start thing was part of it.

Without a fresh start, there’s no forgiveness. I couldn’t find my way out of the garbage heap of anger. I couldn’t see the light of grace.