I hope your Easter and Passover remembrances were wonderful and blessed. Honestly, my Easter day was odd. That’s not a word often associated with Easter, but it was for me this year.
For the first time in 30 years, I did not have one of my children at home for Easter. Therefore, my husband and I decided to do something different and head to the beach for the weekend. Just odd.
On Easter morning with the sun shining on the majestic Gulf of Mexico in Gulf Shores, we found a church to attend with a packed sanctuary of people we had never met – but then again we weren’t there to socialize. We were there to rejoice and lift our praises with them in celebrating the Resurrection of Christ. It was a lovely time, but I missed my very familiar church. Just odd.
Easter lunch was leftover spaghetti – really, really good spaghetti, but not exactly an Easter treat with your family around the table laughing and sharing stories of Easter hunts and prizes found from the past, or the frilly dresses and bow ties that our little ones often get dressed in for that special day. It was flip-flops and t-shirt time. Just odd.
So off to the beach we went lugging all of the “stuff” one needs for a few hours of fun in the sun. But of course the minute we were settled, the clouds rolled in. I normally become very frustrated when this happens. It’s like they purposely wait until I get on the beach and then they plan to hover over us while giggling at my impatience.
But this Easter afternoon I was glad the clouds were there because instead of sunning I was watching “Ethan”. All of a sudden, the oddness of the day went away because I was on a mission.
We noticed a set of parents with five children – one was an infant and others ranged to about 11 years old. I started watching them play and found myself smiling until Ethan caught my eye.
Ethan was about two and half years old and nobody was watching him. He ran into the ocean, ran up to strangers, ran down the beach and back to the water over and over. His mom would glance at him every now and then, but often a long gap of time would occur before she started looking for him. His dad never did.
They had taken their eye off of one of their most prized possessions, assuming Ethan would be fine as they played and watched the others. I could not take my eyes off of Ethan. I was so afraid he would toddle into the water and find himself in dangerous harm. Last year, I pulled a three year old out of the bottom of the pool while his mom was sunbathing. So my beach time became lifeguard time. I wasn’t going to take my eyes off of her prize.
I’m not judging his parents, but I couldn’t enjoy the Easter afternoon knowing that Ethan wasn’t being guarded. I’m sure they thought he’d be fine and nothing was going to happen. Why would it? Family time on the beach was fun and simple. No reason to be complacent and worry, right?
Finally, they decided to pack up and leave. I was a nervous wreck by now and I was relieved they were gone. So much for a calm and carefree Easter Sunday, and that’s why my I said it was an ‘odd’ Easter day for me.
Taking our eye off of our responsibilities because of feeling a bit comfortable and thinking that everything is all right is exactly the opposite of guarding what we have. Let a championship team slack off on practice and watch them slip back. Take your eyes off a little one for a few minutes and gamble with chaos. Assume your job is safe and secure and any extra work isn’t needed. The false security of complacency can have uncomfortable consequences.
And in the political world, thinking that being in the reddest conservative state means we can sit back and cruise some is a sure formula for losing our foothold as the dominant political Party in Alabama. Taking voters and their trust in us for granted is a way to feed complacency. We must never let up on our quest to guard our gains and to add to them.
We must not take our eyes off of our conservative principles. As we make our way into a very important election year, where we have the opportunity to elect a Republican president for America and make Alabama even stronger with our GOP team, may we be diligent and bold in keeping our eyes on the prize of electing conservative Republicans. Complacency has no place in our mission and we should reject it with our hard work and our determination to keep our eyes on the ultimate prize – conservative Republican victories.
I’m staying home next Easter and fixing the biggest Easter lunch we’ve ever had after going to our church to celebrate the grace and love of Christ, and if my kids aren’t there I’m putting out their pictures in the frilly dress and the bow tie clothes while smiling and never taking for granted the prizes life has brought to us.
SEEING RED
April 1-2 in Montgomery had lawmakers seeing red as the Alabama Federation of Republican Women had a wonderful 2-day event. President Frances Taylor and her team had a great lineup of speakers. We had a lovely breakfast with First Lady Dianne Bentley before the ladies of the ‘red wave’ visited in the State House. We appreciated the warm welcome from the Alabama Senate as we watched important legislation being debated. These ladies love Alabama and America and they show it by spending their time, funds and hard work to be a part of the process.
CALLING ALABAMA
We will be soon announcing some national Republican leaders and possible Presidential candidates that will be calling into Alabama to speak to members of the Alabama Republican Party, GOP elected officials and members of our County Committees and grassroots teams. We will be asking for your questions to share with the guests on the phone. This will save them time and money to come to Alabama when their schedules do not allow, for now at least, and gives them an opportunity to reach out to us. Get ready for ringing good calls! More to come.
UNTIL NEXT TIME…
Stronger Together,
Mrs. Terry Lathan
Chairwoman, Alabama Republican Party