Dear Friends,

I don’t really consider myself to have a green thumb. I love plants and keep many around my house—as long as I can keep my cats from chewing on them—and our yard is filled with foliage. But every once in awhile, something dies, and I don’t have a clue why.

One such plant was just an ordinary flowering bush called an ixora. We had them lining our pool enclosure on the outside. It had turned brown and the branches easily broke off, so it was time to pull it out and try something else in its spot by the screen door.

Months later, before I had decided what to put in its place, or whether to leave the spot empty, I noticed something when I walked out that door. A tiny shoot. What? I thought I had gotten all the roots and everything from that plant. But no, it still lived!

Within a few months, it was once again a thriving, blossoming bush.

Even more intriguing was that the plant next to it, informally known as the yesterday today tomorrow, seemed to be intertwined with it so that the two appeared to be one plant, but with distinctly different flowers. Could it be that the yesterday today tomorrow was actually giving life to the ixora?

Isn’t that just like God? We die to ourselves so that we can be resurrected in Christ. We live our life in and through him. “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

That’s what we’re writing about this month: Resurrection Life. What seemed dead is now alive. What seemed hopeless is now hopeful. What this broken world has killed, God has restored.

Where have you seen this resurrection life happening in your own situation? As you read the words of our Redbud writers this month, consider where you see God working. Let us know your own stories in the comments. We love to hear from our readers!

During this month that we celebrate Easter, the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, may you know the life-restoring power of God in your life.

Many blessings,

P.S. We are sad to let you know that late in March we lost long-time Redbud member Lucinda Secrest McDowell to a fast-moving cancer that took her much too quickly. Her family would appreciate your prayers.