Show Notes: The Ground Begins to Soften

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." — Ezekiel 36:26

Happy Easter! In this episode, Scott Stoner reflects on one of his favorite Easter metaphors — one rooted right here in Wisconsin: the slow, unmistakable thawing of frozen ground in spring.

Alongside the powerful images from the Easter story itself — the stone rolled away, the risen Christ, the road to Emmaus — the annual spring thaw offers its own quiet resurrection message. The ground that has been locked and hardened through winter softens, loosens, and comes alive again. And so can we.

The episode centers on Ezekiel 36:26: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

Just as our hearts, bodies, relationships, and spirits can become hardened — through grief, anxiety, depression, grudges, or the weight of what's happening in the world — Easter holds out the promise of thawing. And crucially, we don't cause the thaw. We receive it. The word resurrection shares its roots with resurgence — divine love never stops wanting to surge again in us. Our part is simply to loosen our grip and let it.

This episode is a companion to the guided meditation The Ground Begins to Soften, available on the Living Compass app. 📱 Download or access it at app.livingcompass.org

Jesus has risen. The ground is softening — in Wisconsin, in this season, in you. The thaw has already begun. Thanks be to God.