Forever ago—or maybe it was just the other day—I packed a lunchbox for my 4-year-old to take to school.

“I love thinking of how God was watching, guiding us toward one another, always knowing how it would come together. He must have enjoyed seeing how we connected over a much-loved painting of a little girl and a dog.”

Before becoming a mother, I had no idea how important my relationships with other mothers would be.

Back in the fall, my sister Maureen reached out to tell us that her son, a junior in high school, had landed an actual role in his school musical.

When Seminarian Andrew Chase was assigned to St. Joseph’s in Cockeysville, he learned he would be responsible for the donuts and coffee after Mass.

This type of encounter helps us see the beauty and the power and the imagination behind God’s creation.

When it was her turn, she walked right up to the cross, carefully leaned down very low, and gave the dark wood a kiss. Then she bounced away.

The Easter season is a time for rejoicing—not just for ourselves, but in a way that invites those around us to join in the celebration.

As much as we want to keep trying to fix a problem, maybe this is the time to hand it over to God. We can place whatever is troubling us into his hands, trusting that he will walk with us, moving mountains we cannot move and preparing us for the next step on our journey.  

Whether you have been preparing since Ash Wednesday or are just deciding that you want to shift into a new mode now, the moment is yours.