As we approach Easter...

Here they come again, the Bible toting evangelists! Why do they always travel in packs?

I take a deep breath and force a smile.

“No, thank you! I belong to the Catholic church,”

I say politely and walk away. I had not been to mass in months, but that seems to always do the trick. In the past, I had tried simply saying, “No, thank you,” but that tends to give them ammunition to push harder. They start spewing nonsense about Jeeee-sus that leaves such a fowl taste in my mouth about religion in general.

That was my mindset only five years ago. That’s how I saw it, and I knew I did not want any part of what they were offering.

As a child, I was always fascinated with the concept of God of the universe. I used to sit and look at the sky, the clouds, the trees and the butterflies… I used to wonder if there was something that is bigger than all of us, bigger than this world. When I felt like a stranger in a land full of eyes judging me, I’d smell the trees, the rain, the fresh dirt… I’d feel the warmth of the sun and the soft wind caressing my face and be comforted. Perhaps I always knew that unconditional love is the essence of God.

When Christ presented himself to me, I somehow recognized him. He liberated me from the darkness that I never realized that I had been in. When I stepped into the light, it was as if I had always known him. But who is “him?” They told me his name was Jesus. But if they had not, would I still have been drawn to him? If I knew of nothing that he had done or who he was, would I still have known his truth, his love, that breathed a new life into me? I believe I would have.

A new perspective in a new mirror… it is the reflection I see in the eyes belonging to Unconditional Love. He said, “Look at yourself through my eyes; not the world's.” I find myself walking a tightrope. When I look straight ahead at the truth of love he speaks, I am fearless and free. I take steps in confidence. When I look away, I wobble and lose my balance; but with each wobble, it takes less time to find his gaze again.

But the best part about being a Christian is that although I continue to trip and stumble, I will never fall to my death. I can be free of the world’s eye of scrutiny and know that fear does not have any power over me. And above all, religion does not have any power over me.