every year for the past few years i’ve written about the cross & what it means to me. last year i just reposted the previous year with a few twists. this year, i decided to start over and reflect on where i am this year.
these are just some thoughts off the top of my head, where i am today in the midst of all kinds of life & refuge wild and craziness (what’s new?), in a season of my faith that feels free-er and more connected than it’s been in a long time, in a season where traditions & remembering-the-story seem extra important.
this year, 2012, the cross reminds me that:
God’s ways are always higher than my ways. crazier, too. and a lot less practical.
there are no shortcuts even though i keep looking for them, longing for them. even Jesus tried, asking for an easier plan.
“forgive them father, for they know not what they do” heals. these words continue to give me new eyes of compassion toward myself & those who have hurt me.
on the road to golgotha, Jesus had to receive help. someone else carried his cross. it symbolizes the power of receiving, not only giving.
it’s easier to live in “friday” and “saturday” of the easter story than “sunday.” at the same time, if we are always trying to skip quickly to sunday, we’re not really living because life includes pain & struggle.
shame must always be scorned.
the path of least resistance is usually to be victims or survivors instead of thrivers.
picking up my cross & carrying it is tough stuff. i like wearing crosses & talking about crosses & hanging crosses on my wall. carrying them is a whole other story.
“it is finished” continues to become more and more comforting to me as i expand my view of what that might really mean.
i need hope. without it, i’m toast.
my son asked me today why they called today “good friday.” he thought it should be called “sort-of-confusing friday” instead. for me, this year, it somehow feels less confusing than others years, maybe because i’m not caught up in trying to make sense of anything but just accept its rawness, weirdness and beauty with an open heart. it feels really “good”.
what about you? what does the cross mean to you this year?
happy easter weekend to all of you. peace & hope, kathy