I was in an art class recently with some 1st graders who were studying Native American petroglyphs and pictographs. They had examples on the board and a handout at their table which contained many signs and symbols. The favorite was the Thunderbird.

The meaning of the Thunderbird on this particular handout was sacred. I watched the students create their artwork, but when I got to one student, I stopped. I wasn’t quite sure what the picture was. He noticed me watching and began to explain, “This is a very sad picture.” He elaborated more and used words such as crying, bad, and unhappy. Finally, he pointed out the word sacred and said, “See, he’s scared.”

I smiled and told him the correct word and what it meant and watched his expression change. He grinned and said, “Wow! This picture just went from sad to happy!” How quickly our outlook on life can change when we learn the whole truth.

The Saturday between the crucifixion and resurrection must have been a bleak day. Yesterday had crushed their hope, stolen their peace, and wrecked their lives. So this day is filled with hopelessness, grief, anxiety, and emptiness. Nothing mattered. All was lost.

Due to not having the whole truth, too many people live in this way. But hope, peace, and life are just around the corner. Learning that God is always present is enough to change any bad day into a good one. Knowing that we don’t have to shoulder the hard times or weather the storms alone should give us just enough energy to get through them.

The whole truth can only be found in the words of your nearest Bible. Start with the ones in red first and then work your way throughout the book. You might be surprised by what you find.

–Paula Harrington @ www.forthright.net