Years ago when I would go on hikes, I'd see this at a crossroads on the trails and look at it to figure out which direction I needed to take.
Now when I see this at a crossroads on a trail, my heart smiles.
Why?
Because now when I see it, like this one in Acadia this past summer, I see a cross. Crosses have become something I see all the time, and when I am feeling low, I seek out.
For example, last year, often when in a waiting room or in a doctors office, I would see crosses. From the panels in the ceiling and window panes, to the crosses in the floor tiles, they were always around me. I remember one day laying on the radiation table and seeing two crosses above me built into the equipment that the technicians used to help be sure my the equipment was properly placed before they began the treatment. There was a comfort I received when I would see a cross, whether it was in the bricks on the sidewalk or random sticks that had fallen into that formation.
Why do I get comforted by the sight of a cross?
Only recently has it become significant in my life. Talk to me eight years ago and a cross meant nothing to me. Yet today, especially this weekend, the cross means everything to me. You see, this weekend is Easter weekend, and the cross to me reminds me of Jesus. For the majority of my life, if someone said Jesus, I would roll my eyes and think crazy person. Yet I would still go through Easter weekend without giving much thought to the root of what it was I was celebrating. Now it is the root of Easter that has me seeking crosses for comfort along my path in life (and I am that crazy person saying Jesus! lol).
Easter is the weekend, as a Christian, we mourn the death of Jesus and also celebrate the resurrection. Now whether you believe in Jesus or not, I would ask you to consider what his life, and death were all about.
Jesus' life was one filled with love and healing. He came beside people who were hurting with the hope to heal them in mind, body and Spirit. He told stories filled with wisdom and lessons that are still applicable to our lives today, thousands of years later. He demonstrated what it looked like and sounded like to live a selfless life; living with the central purpose to love others. This same truth was what brought Jesus to his death. Jesus died by crucifixion, by being nailed to a cross, which was back in that day a form of capital punishment. He died on a cross, so we could have life.
What does that mean?
Jesus's death showed me that the greatest gift in life was to be willing to lay down your life for another.
He was selfless in life. He was selfless in death.
And this is the example I hope to follow in life. When I see a cross, it reminds me that my life isn't just about me, it is about loving on others around me. So when I am walking through life, whether I am in the waiting room, out on a hike, at home or out and about, when I see a cross, it reminds me what the central focus of my life is meant to be, to love others. Also, when I am feeling low or at a crossroads in life, when I see a cross it reminds me that when I am unsure of which direction to go, I have a choice, I can look at the problem or look to the cross, and the life and death of Jesus, to help give me wisdom to know what direction to walk in.
I share this with you today in case you are seeking purpose in your life or at a crossroads. I invite you to join me to...
Pause. Breathe. Pray.
And consider looking at the cross to give you wisdom for your purpose, direction for your steps and comfort in your heart.
With love and hope,
Shawn
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20