Small Towns and Easter

This weekend, I may have visited Babbitt, Minnesota for maybe the last time of my life. Ok, for many of you, you A) have no idea where the heck Babbitt, Minnesota is or B) know the town and really wonder if there is something wrong with me that I would actually miss it. For the second time in my life, I visited the wonderful, small, Iron Range town in Northern Minnesota. This is where one of my roommates from last year lives. Town = about 1300 people on a good day. It is kind of weird, there is not too much in the town except of course The Babbitt Golf Course, The Teen Center, a few churches, a school, and of course Tank’s Bar. The reason Babbitt plays such a special role in my life is because it is the first real small town I have ever actually spent time in. All my life, I grew in a big town with multiple gas stations, stores, and five Wendy’s restaurants within a few mile radius. If any of you have never spent time in a small town, it is something you must do.

The unity of people in a town like that is incredible. For many small villages in Northern Minnesota, the entire community is dependent on one thing, the local mine. I never understood the implications of how one thing could really effect so many people at a deep level. The thing about a mine is that after a few years or decades, there just is not anything left to mine, meaning all those who worked there would have to be laid off. It is as if each day you go to work, you are actually working away at eliminating your job. Maybe a decade ago or so, a mine closed down in Babbitt, decreasing the need for schools from three to one and shutting down numerous business. Families have been affected greatly. It is not just the parents, but also their kids and grandkids. For many, growing up in a tough environment with an unstable job is common. The implications for the children are great and heavy at the same time.

What I wanted to establish here was the implications of one thing (in this case a mine) that could effect so many people for generations to come. As today is Easter, it is crazy to think of how deep the implications are of what Jesus did on the cross on Good Friday, but further the unbelievable joy in Jesus being raised from the dead. What implications are there in these activities? For us as humans, we have the ability to accept a gift that redeems us from the penalty of our sins. Although the physical act of Jesus dying and then being raised occurred thousands of years ago, the result of this act effects each of us today and for our eternity. So often the spirit of Easter is lost in activities, family, and food. While these things are important, the true meaning of Easter is often overlooked. Let us not forget what it meant for Jesus to overcome the sins of the world on the cross in being resurrected. There would be no Christian faith, no atonement for sins, no eternal life in Heaven, no forgiveness of sins, without Jesus being raised. What an incredible gift that is offered to us that is often overlooked?

Lastly, I must add that although my stay in Babbitt this time around was about 24 hours, I do not think a family outside my own has ever treated me so nicely. It was as if I was their son for the weekend. I always said that one of the biggest reasons why I came to the U was because the people were so nice. I never knew that the parents and friends of the people I became friends with would treat me as one of their own too.