The story goes that on Easter Sunday morning in 1799 the residents of the sleepy scenic Austrian town of Feldkirk awoke to find Napoleon’s army on their doorstep just outside town. Town leaders gathered to discuss what they should do. Was it time to raise the white flag of surrender to save their town?

Someone suggested that since it was Easter morning the first priority ought to be to simply “Let the church bells ring” in honor of the Lord’s resurrection, worship and then reassemble to decide their city’s fate. The story goes that when the bells peeled out loud and strong for Easter and the joy of resurrection, Napoleon’s generals, not particularly focused on what day it was, assumed that the Austrian army had arrived in Feldkirk to fortify the town, and so the French moved on to “greener pastures.”

The awesome little story is apparently basically factual if you look into the history of Feldkirk. But irregardless, there is a great take away from the central idea of just “let the bells ring!” Whatever is going on in your life today, let the bells ring. As I write this on the day before Easter, 2015 there are about a half dozen worries I can think of at the moment that are clanging around in my head: major issues in the world, nagging health struggles good friends are going through, recent deaths of precious friends, and so forth. There comes a point where we simply stop and say, “This is the day the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it.” I will let the bells ring!

The truth shall set you free

J Beckett