Life Stories at Easter

Dave Simpson shares how the Cross and the Resurrection has inspired many life stories at Easter. Could it be part of your story this Easter?

In last month’s article I wrote about Easter and the meaning of the festival as it was approaching. You’re probably reading this article after the event having had a little too much chocolate.

I wrote in the last piece about what Easter means to me. The Easter narrative of Jesus’ death on a cross and ultimate resurrection providing humanity with the way back to God and the way to a full life now and forever.

You will no doubt have your own opinion on this. It may be that you believe it as well and are in agreement. It may have been a reminder of a story you once knew as a child but has since lost its significance to you. Or quite simply you may believe it to be nothing more than a story. A myth of some kind which you have little time for.

Whatever your opinion, the reality is it means very little unless it means something to you personally.

The message of Easter and the narrative that it is possible to know God and live life with God present in your life has an impact if we can see it modelled by someone. It makes it more real and opens the possibility that it could be true for ourselves as well. Otherwise it is simply theoretical and seems too abstract to have real meaning.

In my role at Cross Rhythms Plymouth it is my pleasure to present a show called Life Stories. The show profiles individuals for whom this story is very real and makes all the difference to their everyday lives. The interviews are always very honest and the guests share both the highs and lows of their lives and what their faith means to them.

As much as possible I try to interview local people from here in Plymouth.

Whatever your opinion on Easter I encourage you to listen to one of these Life Stories interviews and see what your opinion is then.

Life stories at Easter, from Plymouth

I recently spoke with Rob a man who grew up in Reading, battled anxiety in school and went on to start a very successful business. Everything seemed perfect but he was not happy and needed drink and drugs daily to live the life he wanted. Believing he would never be happy he spiralled into deep depression until the God of the Easter message became very real to him and has changed his life ever since, bringing him to Whitleigh in Plymouth and a work serving the community there for some time.

You can hear his story at www.crplymouth.co.uk/podcast/rob-fowler-life-stories.

Or maybe you’d prefer to listen to Jackie’s story. One in which she found faith which so changed her it lead her on a lifelong journey of forgiveness from someone close who had wronged her in her younger days.

Her desire to forgive and find freedom, as motivated by her connection to God, would provide hope for the person she was forgiving as well as herself. Her story is online at www.crplymouth.co.uk/podcast/jackie-yates-life-stories.

Then there are Kev and Reuben a father and son pair who both recognise God as being the most important aspect of their lives. Kev who has experienced God with him through relationship breakup and Reuben experiencing God as being the only one who could help him come sober from a drug taking habit that was spiralling out of control.

You can hear them both talk about their stories at www.crplymouth.co.uk/podcast/kev-and-reuben-smith-life-stories.

We have so many more stories on the website like that. You can find all of them by visiting our Life Stories page in the Listen Again section of this website.

This article was first published in The Plymouth Chronicle