My Easter Story

I grew up going to church, was Christened at 4 months old and went to both a Church of England (C of E) primary and secondary school. I relatively accepted ‘God’, but was always very inquisitive about the ‘how’ of it all. How was I supposed to interact with God and live as a believer? What did that look like for my day-to-day life as well as the bigger picture?

I’m naturally inquisitive, but this was also driven by the fact my dad is an Irish Catholic and my mum is an English Protestant, very different approaches. They got married in the late 80s and, I am told, my paternal grandfather commented at the time, “Look at the distance between us, look how far we’ve come, Jesus brought us here”. The love and relationship my family has been able to share in a way that supersedes politics and religious rules has always inspired me.

The year my grandfather passed away was a huge year for me faith-wise. There was a lot of darkness from sadness and anger. I was studying St Mark’s Gospel for my Religious Education GCSE at the time and came across the verse, ‘Do not be afraid; only believe’, which I now have tattooed as it is something I have needed to cling on to. In that year, another family member died, the 4th in my family to pass away as a result of suicide. I felt completely detached from the world and really began to dig in to finding something else to hold on to. I found God, my God, my core.

I also started playing in the worship band at church and I distinctly remember playing ‘Strength Will Rise’ and the lyrics ‘You’re the defender of the weak, You comfort those in need’ jumping out at me. I’d long been thinking of joining law enforcement – I told my dad at 8 that I was going to be an actress and he said no you’re not get a proper job, so I said I’d join the Police. That lyric gave soul to why I would want to be in law enforcement; to defend the weak and comfort those in need, to have an element of God within my career and commit to it as a purpose.

Since then, I’ve lived across the UK and did a study abroad placement in Texas. I travel whenever I can and even have a Sak Yantt tattoo from a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Wherever I’ve been, whatever I’ve faced, I’ve always taken my faith in God and the purpose He has for me with me. I feel settled in London now because I’ve fallen in love with a church, thoroughly enjoy my job and have parks, pubs and pals nearby!

There’s something more to all of this 'this', I believe that it’s God. I have a relationship with God, I trust Him in with my life on this Earth and beyond. There’s more historical evidence that Jesus existed than there is that Julius Caesar did, the debate about Him is whether he was mad, bad or God. That debate 2,000 years ago resulted in the Crucifixion. Out of love, Jesus died on the Cross, taking our sin with Him so we never need to earn forgiveness. It really is incredible. All God asks is that we do our best and connect with Him. As Easter often falls around my mid-April birthday, this time of year often feels like more of a New Year to me than 31 December. A new age and a new reminder of the fresh slate we’ve all been given by an astounding sacrifice.

One of the only times, other than for a plane to go on holiday, I can be a morning person is for the dawn service on Good Friday. At my church in Liverpool, a handful of us would be there at silly o’clock in the morning for a peaceful service before enjoying hot buttered hot cross buns! That quiet sunrise would also hit me with what happened at the crucifixion and with the results of the previous 40 days of contemplative Lent. The Sunday was always church, a huge celebration that almost every year includes my favourite hymn, ‘In Christ Alone’. Then it’d be Easter Eggs at home before dad cooked the best roast lamb possible.

This year will be a bit different. I’ll be in Liverpool so I can do my Good Friday traditions, but then the Sunday I’ll be having an early roast lunch before travelling back to London for my first Easter at my current church. I’m really excited to start creating new traditions for this next stage of my life. The belief in Easter is truly what differentiates Christianity from other beliefs and that makes it feel particularly significant to me, so I will always be careful to mark it one way or another. I rather prefer it to Christmas in all honesty.

My faith is my priority, living in love as a result of Him loving us first, and when living like that, everything seems to fall in to place and I am at my most peaceful. For me, the human imposed rules and judgements that can come from religion are of no interest, I just put God first and hang out with God-focused mates on a Tuesday and Sunday.

I appreciate that this may not appeal to everyone, but I have hope that everyone can find what settles their core, keeps them going and enables them to look outside of what’s in front of them. With that approach, we could change the world…