​As we enter Easter weekend I think of the days as a little more than long weekend. Easter has always been a bit of a confusing time for me. The Christian part of the weekend I completely understand. The chocolate bunnies and candy eggs have been the part that leaves me scratching my head. However, because I have faith I have few questions about the bunny connection.
 
But why should we have faith?
 
1 – It Pleases God
 
This is basically the foundation of our belief system. In order to please God, you must have faith. This means that because I believe in Him and who He is, I also believe he will reward me for seeking Him and following His teachings. Because I have faith in Him, I pray daily. He has also answered several of my prayers. He shows me things. He teaches me almost daily. None of that would be possible if I did not have faith – believed in Him.
 
2 – It Affects Decisions
 
I have noticed over the past several years that the way I react to situations has changed. I no longer make rash, knee-jerk decisions. I choose to mull things over and take a different approach. It is because of the faith I have in God to guide me with the tough decisions that I think things through. I truly believe He is with me at all times and it is because of my faith in Him that my decisions are made calmly with common sense.
 
3 – It Gives Us Testimony
 
I’m basically doing that right now. I have been sharing my testimony with you which is based on my faith. I mentioned that good decisions have been made thanks to God’s presence in my life. He has opened many new doors and shows me the way frequently. I can’t take the credit myself because it is not me who is doing those things. My faith in God connects me to Him and He guides me when I truly need the assistance.
 
Faith Is Believing
 
I have faith because I believe in God. It sounds simple and although there are many times so far in my life it has been far more complicated than that, it still comes down to the simple part about belief. With Easter just around the corner, I know what I believe to be true about God and the Resurrection. It reminds me about the value He has given to me and how I value Him. Without belief there is no faith. Without faith there is nothing. I believe and there is no amount of chocolate bunnies or candy eggs that will sway my stance on that. 

​This afternoon I had a few minutes between writing jobs where I decided to go through a few things. They included journals and old videos. I am convinced that the only time I even have a slight interest in revisiting the past in this way is instigated by God. I’m serious because there always seems to be some kind of message I’m supposed to get when I ‘return’ to the present.
 
Well, this afternoon’s short little trip back into my past took me to various places and reintroduced me to several different people I haven’t seen or thought about for quite some time. It was nice to relive some of the memories of those days and then I moved into the recent past. I sat in front of the computer and quickly scanned through a number of videos I had recorded.
 
One of the jumped out at me. It was a video I shot on the very last publication day for our newspaper. It was in July 2016. The video was long enough for me to tell the story about us making our final trip to this building where our newspaper was published each week. I shared some other details and basically wrapped it up with a thank you to all for their support.
 
When the video ended all I could say was, “Wow, we’ve come a long way.” I quickly reviewed in my mind some of the things that had happened in the 19 months since I recorded that video. The changes included the closure of the printing press where the video was shot. However, what stood out most for me was the changed both my wife, Brenda and I had gone through since then.
 
I paused for a moment to soak that in. It made me grateful for the path God has put us on from that moment to now. I had a calmness come over me when I realized that it was His doing that I stepped back in the past in the first place. Clearly He wanted to remind me that we have made some serious progress from where we once were a relatively short period of time ago.
 
Some may call it a reality check. I just like to look at it as a gentle nudge to remind me that through all the good and the bad, He is always there with us. This afternoon’s little side trip was an example of that. A reminder that things are not always going to be the same. This is especially true for times of trouble. He is there to guide us through and to remind us we got through it all.