Hope springs eternal for baseball fans at the beginning of the season. At the start of the baseball season every team has a chance to win. It's exciting to see opening day with the ultra green grass on the field and the stadiums sparkling clean. It's fun to watch the festivities as the first pitch is being thrown, which started my mind correlating the ceremonial aspect of opening day with the ceremonial aspect of Holy Week.

For those who attend church on a regular basis, Easter extends hope and excitement. We buy new colorful outfits, we decorate the sanctuary, and attendance for Easter is much larger than on most traditional Sundays. It is fun and exciting to be part of the Easter celebration.

For baseball fans, reality sets in soon into the season. It's not long before the realization that our team isn't going to have a winning season sets in. It's similar in the church after Easter. Tradition has proven that the week after Easter attendance in churches is about half what it was on Easter Sunday.

As church-going Christians, we are going to have down times when things do not go as smoothly as we'd like. How we react when those times come really show the world who we are and what we believe. In the day-to-day life of the church when things aren't as exciting or as fun as Easter, the best thing to do is remember what Easter was really all about and who it is that walks with you every day. Easter is fun, it's exciting, but every Sunday is a "little Easter". Worshiping on a regular basis with friends and family will enrich your life immensely.