On the way to the writers’ group, my daughter pointed to the east side of the road. “Mother, look.”
Perched on a hill on U.S. 84 stood a wooden cross. Two pieces of wood nailed together, standing like a sentinel, guarding the valley. I don’t know who planted it, but it captured my heart, and I love it.
It’s a quiet reminder that Jesus is watching over us. That he died and gave His life for us. That cross gives us courage and encouragement as we face trouble throughout the day.
What thoughtful soul took the time to remind me to embrace the promises of Jesus? Another Christian shining his light? I hope to meet him one day and thank him.
When I come off the Lower Blanco and drive north, the mountains around our little town embrace me and remind me that before the mountains were, God said, “I am.” As I marvel at these beautiful, majestic mountains, no matter how they loom over me, the Psalmist David reminds me to look to the One who made it all.
“Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” — Psalms 90:2 (NKJV).
Now, in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains where we live, is an ordinary cross, to call our attention to what is really important, that the cross stands between us and heaven, and is our salvation.
It was not Christmas, nor Easter. It was an ordinary day, on an ordinary road, going to an ordinary place, that I looked away to see that someone had thought of Jesus. It filled my heart with hope and good will. Hopefully, we do that for each other.
I read this week about another cross, a lesser-known one that stands near the Hollywood sign in Southern California. Did you know about this other cross? I didn’t. This cross is not listed in the top 10 attractions of Hollywood. This cross stands in the shadow of the gigantic bold letters that spell “Hollywood.”
The Hollywood sign boasts of itself, of palm trees and dazzling lights. Everyone is familiar with that signage. The steel cross stands 32 feet tall and is overlooked.
This ordinary cross is known as the Hollywood Pilgrimage Memorial Monument and is situated above the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif.
It was planted in 1920, over 100 years ago, on that hill in memory of Christine Wetherill Stevenson, a wealthy heiress who established the Pilgrimage Theatre. This theater was the venue for “The Pilgrimage Play,” a drama about Christ.
I have heard and quoted this many times, “People stumble over a lot of grace to go to hell.”
It is so true. We constantly see God’s handiwork in nature and in His people, reminding us that God is here. He came in the person of Jesus and is the one rooted in history. The knowledge of Him has been handed down to each generation for more than 2,000 years.
Paul reminds us, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” Galatians 6:14 NKJV).
Final brushstroke: For that person who took the time and effort to plant a cross by U.S. 84, know that when I look that way on my journey to town, I’ll say a prayer for you.
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