This little raised cross. Torn marks cut deep all around leaving scars like I’ve felt in life. But it doesn’t define me. The cross within me remains the stronger beat.
“Raised up, reclaimed, repurposed, redefined, rejuvenated…stronger for the marks. That is how good the Cross is. Redeemed.”
I’ve learned that keeping a positive outlook in life can set your direction. My dad helped form this perspective early on with his ongoing upbeat nature. It was my “pre-faith” faith. The first struggles I had in life were health-related, being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at age 18, an auto-immune disease, with no cure or known cause. It was embarrassing and painful many times. I was hospitalized the month before I started college and 2 years later I had to drop out of a college semester. These health struggles, and forced recovery times, when all you could do was rest, helped form my determination. You just keep going.
Sometimes the marks life leave are visible too long, a reminder of the pain. Failed relationships, false securities in economics, loss of those we love, and other things life throws us. But I won’t stay there. It would have been easy to give up, but YOU can’t. There is always more.
The grace of the cross. I now see this positive mindset as a fundamental element of faith. Believe. Hope. Trust. It was part of my faith foundation before I even knew to discover and form my own faith. Starting small with the size of a mustard seed, faith grows.
Tossed aside concrete in the making of something else; a leftover not even removed from the focus of the project. The outcome is the formed in the unformed. It’s a powerful reminder for what the scraps and unintended marks can make — we are an art form in the making.
Raised up, reclaimed, repurposed, redefined, rejuvenated…stronger for the marks!
That’s how good the Cross is. Redeemed.
Thanks for this perspective. For some the cross is a mark of faith – for me it is more than that – it is a mark of hope. A reminder to keep pushing forward while continually submitting to and obeying who died on the cross for us. Sometimes life’s journey takes me through overwhelming periods of hopelessness, and yet, the cross reminds me of the eternal hope found in all things! Keep eyes fixed on Jesus in all of life’s seasons, is the greatest source of encouragement,
Thank you Carla for your thoughts! I agree on the cross being a mark of hope and to keep pressing on. Appreciate your comment and reading.
I love the idea of the cross raised up against the field of the ordinary. The stark irregular frame of the picture reminds me of how life is framed from time to time.
Without the cross we would face a stark and lonely existence.
Thank you Ann for reading and taking time to comment! Your interpretation and viewpoint of the image and cross is appreciated.
Thank you Amy for sharing your story! You persevered through many obstacles, you inspire me to not give up and to keep a positive outlook even when things are difficult!!
Thank you Amy for sharing your story! You persevered through many obstacles, and it inspires me to do the same in my own life and to keep a positive outlook at all times!!