The cycle of loss and rebirth touches every life, and we think about it especially at Easter, with its dominant theme of loss and rebirth (however you choose to interpret it). For me, Easter is a time to remember that out of every heartbreaking tragedy comes light.

Or more precisely, in a time of heartbreaking tragedy, it's important to look for the light, maybe even create it.

Ten years ago, 11-year-old Sandrine Craig was killed in a car accident. What a heartbreaking tragedy. But her family chose to donate her organs to help others, and they went on to establish Sandrine's Gift, an organ and tissue donation awareness campaign.

What a wonderful light.

At age 18, Terry Fox was diagnosed with bone cancer. He died four years later at the age of 22. What a heartbreaking tragedy. As a result of his Marathon of Hope, however, almost $500 million has been raised for cancer research and countless lives have been saved or prolonged.

What a wonderful light.

In early 1995, Christopher Reeve landed head first after a fall off his horse. The fall shattered his C1-C2 vertebrae leaving him paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe. During subsequent surgery, doctors literally reattached his head to his spine. What a heartbreaking tragedy. Since then, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation has dedicated itself to treating and curing spinal cord injuries.

What a wonderful light.

For many people, the

resurrection

story can’t be a literal one. For me, it’s about creating light in the darkness, and changing things in a way that doesn’t allow the world to go back to the way things were before.