Easter Upside-Down

I wonder what Easter's like in Austrailia or South Africa,
when instead of happening in springtime
with budding trees and bushes,
and tulips and daffodils poking their green shoots through the warming earth,
what if, instead, it is the beginning of Fall
with leaves falling off the trees
and winter preparation just around the corner.

Most of our Easter metaphors are about new life
and how we can see it popping up around us every day.
The days are getting longer and the temperatures are warmer
and the message of new life in Christ
is especially tied to nature's awakening in the world around us.

But what if those cues were absent
and we had to rest our belief in new life
on only in the resurrection story?
What if the drama of Jesus' last days were the only thing we had?

We take so much for granted by living on the top half of the planet.
Our experiences shape the story that the world hears
and we don't even give it a second thought.

But what if we put ourselves in their place?
Is this what it's like to be left-handed,
always trying to fit our reality into someone else's truth?

Maybe this year I will celebrate and upside-down Easter...
I wonder what that would look like?

(c) Deb Luther Teagan, March 2017