Heading Home

Standing at a distance, she gazed at the man’s crucified body, dying on a cross, as her heart pounded in agony. Deep sobs heaved her chest. Her knees began to buckle.

What brought her to the cross? A mother’s love. For this was Mary’s son, dying for the world.

John the disciple, who had leaned upon this Divine Man so many times, stood with Mary, in utter dismay.

What brought him to the cross? Genuine love and deep gratitude.

With John and Mary stood Mary Magdalene, trembling. Tears of grief streamed down her cheeks.

What brought her to the cross? Love, for the forgiveness of the sins in her life, for scripture says, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.” (Luke 7:47a NKJV)

Kneeling on the ground at the foot of this Man’s cross, the soldiers cast lots for His tunic.

What brought them to the cross? Their duty. And now their greed.

Two thieves hung on either side of this cross.

What brought them to the cross? Violation of the law.

Simon the Cyrenian was there.

What brought him to the cross? Bearing the burden of the cross to the hill of sacrifice.

The multitude gathered, murmuring to each other.

What brought them to the cross? Anger. Belittlement. Wonderment. Doubting.

The chief priests stood with the scribes, poised in pride and defiance.

What brought them to the cross? To mock Him, thinking it all utter foolishness.

What did all these have in common? They all needed the very thing for which this Man Jesus was dying on the cross: Salvation and the forgiveness of their sins.

Some accepted it; some rejected it. Paul later wrote to the Corinthians, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18 NIV)

What brings you to the cross? Love? Gratitude? Grief? Duty? Violation of God’s Law? Bearing a burden? Anger? Belittlement? Wonderment? Doubt? Pride? Defiance? Mocking?

Do you come weeping in pain, sorrow, or loss? Emptied of hopes and dreams? Feeling lost in your circumstances?

Without the cross, there would be no Garden of Easter Gladness…to lift you up, to wipe away your tears, to remove your grave clothes of fear and depression.

Walk that trail from the cross to Easter’s Garden of resurrection. See your Saviour Jesus standing there, waiting for you.

He compassionately whispers your name and says, “Do not wear the grave-clothes stained with the tears of grief. Come into My garden of beauty and I will give you the robe of Easter’s resurrection gladness. Take My Hand and let Me lead you along the path to life everlasting. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I gave My life that you might live eternally with Me.”

Jesus always brings us hope of resurrection as on that first Easter morn. He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 NKJV)

Do you believe this? If so, weep no more. May you experience the salvation and forgiveness of the cross, the power of the resurrection, and embrace the risen life in a new way this Easter season.

What brings you to the cross? May it be...Genuine Love.



~~This is part of FaithfulBloggers.com for their writing project The Death, Burial, and Resurrection.

When you know your destination, is the journey any easier? More enjoyable? Depends, doesn’t it?

Depends on how long it takes to get there, what happens on the way, and if the kids say, “Are we there yet?” a bazillion times.

What if your destination is Grandma’s for that Thanksgiving turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, or whatever your traditional fare is?

If you travel any distance to get to this feast, doesn’t the end result give you pleasure along the way? Are you not thankful for this tasty repast even as you travel? And when everyone is seated around the table, isn’t the long journey a mere memory?

Shouldn’t this be our attitude in our journey through life? When we experience the bumps and potholes of trials and hurts, our desirable destination is to get to the other side of these things, knowing our thanksgiving will emerge there. But shouldn’t the journey be filled with thanksgiving as well, knowing that God will see us through it all?

What happens to our thanksgiving when we meet those different obstacles along the way? What happens to our thanksgiving when peace disintegrates into chaos, when a husband loses his job and finances are cut off, when a child is in a car wreck, when the repo man stands knocking at the door, when friends desert, when buying Christmas presents is a vague recollection, when pain strikes the chest and there is no insurance, when the roof overhead is in jeopardy of being taken away, when the cupboard holds no more than the cup?

I have known all of the above, and through them all, I experienced the Lord walking by my side and His hand at work in my circumstances to make “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28 NKJV)

I desire to have the same attitude of gratitude as Habakkuk. In his prayer, the prophet asserted his faith in God and promised to praise Him, even if all else failed, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.” (Hab. 3:17-18 NLT)

Through it all, I have learned to praise God no matter what. When my day is darkened with a multitude of problems that need to “take a ticket, take a seat,” and the songs of my heart begin to stick in my throat, do I still sing to Him anyway? You bet! When my eyes spill over with the tears of heartache, do I still look to Him and praise Him? Absolutely! When chaos invades my world, do I still claim His peace and praise Him? Yes, indeedy! For “I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of His glories and grace.” (Ps. 34:1 TLB)

I have also learned Paul’s secret, “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want,” (Phil. 4:12 TLB) for the secret is as he told the Thessalonians, “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18 TLB)

Thanksgiving is not a once-a-year, special holiday for being as overstuffed as the turkey. Thanksgiving is an eternal season of the heart, an overflow of the heart’s gratitude for all that God has done, is doing, and will do, and for everything one possesses, no matter how much or how little that may be.

Therefore, every day of our journey is Thanksgiving Day.

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” (Col. 4:2 NKJV)

The dark, gray skies overhead threatened an early snow. Rushing shoppers, all bundled up to ward off the cold, crowded the sidewalks, lost in their to-do list for Thanksgiving.

Oblivious to their surroundings, no one noticed a small, shivering boy standing in front of the shoe store, his nose pressed against the window, barely dressed and only flip-flops on his dirty feet.

However, one man did see him and stopped, dead still in his tracks, causing others to bump into him. He didn’t notice the bumps and grumblings, but he did notice the small boy because he had a son about the same age.

Thinking how he would feel if this were his son standing there, barely clothed, the man quietly slid next to the boy, the man stood there for a moment, and then said, “They have some nice shoes here, don’t they?”

“Yeah,” came the soft reply.

“Which ones do you like?”

“That pair over there…the cool running ones.”

“Oh, I’ll bet you could run fast in those.”

“Yes sir. I sure could. Like the wind!”

“You know, I have a little boy just about your age.”

“Oh, yeah? I’ll bet he has shoes like that.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, he does. But I have an idea.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“How ‘bout I take you into the store and buy you that pair of shoes?”

The boy stood there motionless. After a few moments, with tears in his eyes, he looked up at the man. “You want to buy me shoes?”

“I sure do. Your feet must be freezing and I’d love to buy them for you.”

The boy couldn’t even answer.

The man took the boy by the hand and walked into the store. Finding the manager, the man described the pair of shoes and asked the manager to please get a pair in the boy’s size, along with some socks. Then, he said he and the boy would be in the restroom and would he please bring the shoes and socks in there.

The manager gathered the shoes and socks and, upon entering the men’s restroom, found the man on his knees washing the young boy’s feet.

“Can’t stick dirty feet into clean, new socks and shoes, now can we?”

The young boy just stared at the man as he lovingly washed away all the accumulated street-dirt and gently dried his feet.

Feeling he was intruding on a very special moment, the manager quietly placed the shoes and socks on the floor without saying a word.

After placing the socks and shoes on the boy’s feet, the man stood up, and with hands on his hips, said, “Okay. Let’s see how they look. Walk around.”

The little boy couldn’t move. He stared down at his feet that felt glued to the floor. He looked up, tears now streaming down his little face, and said, “Mister, are you Jesus?”

The boy’s words took the man’s breath away. So overcome with emotion, the man could barely speak. Finally, he muttered, “No, son, I’m not. But I know Him very well. And this is a gift from Him.”

“This is the greatest Thanksgiving ever. Would you tell Jesus thank you for me?”

“Well, let’s go for a walk and I’ll tell you how you can do that yourself.”



This post is part of three blog chains. Please check out the other posts at:

Bridget Chumbley’s One Word Blog Carnival
ChristianWriters.com blog chain (see blog chain list in the sidebar)
A Holiday Haven

Not everyone will have a happy Thanksgiving…especially this year. Many are out of work, have issues relating to health, children and family, finances, loss of a loved one with this being the first year without them, grief and other loss, divorce, separation, depression, not being able to go home, a family member broke the law, addictions, or any number of other things.

What happens to thanksgiving and praise when peace disintegrates into chaos, when a husband loses his job and finances are cut off, when a child is in a car wreck, when the repo man stands knocking at the door, when buying Christmas presents is a vague recollection, when pain strikes the chest and there is no insurance, when the roof overhead is in jeopardy of being taken away, when the cupboard holds no more than the cup?

I’ve been through all this. So, what happens to my praise and thanksgiving when my day is darkened with a multitude of problems that need to “take a ticket, take a seat,” and the songs of my heart begin to stick in my throat, do I still sing to Him anyway? You bet! When my eyes spill over with the tears of heartache, do I still look to Him and praise Him? Absolutely! When chaos invades my world, do I still claim His peace and praise Him? Yes, indeedy! For “I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of His glories and grace.” (Ps. 34:1 TLB)

I have learned to transform my attitude into one of gratitude as Habakkuk had. In the closing words of his book, the prophet asserted his faith in God and promised to praise Him, even if all else failed, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.” (Hab. 3:17-18 NLT)

Paul’s statement is now mine, “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want.” (Phil. 4:12 TLB) And this statement has taken up residence in my heart, “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18 TLB)

Are life’s fiery darts aimed at your life, attempting to puncture your heart? What seeps out of your heart?

Whatever is going on in your life, there is always room for thanksgiving! It is the sacrificial gift of your heart. What does it cost you?

A true, sacrificial gift costs you the surrender of your money, for you give sacrificially, as the widow who gave her two mites. It costs you the surrender of your time, for you sacrifice it to put God first. It costs you the surrender of your heart, for you sacrifice your love to those who hate you. It costs you the surrender of your lips, for you sacrifice your praise to God when all seems lost.

Though you may be going through some really rotten things right now, praise the Lord anyway. Praise and thanksgiving may not change your surroundings but it will change your attitude.

Thanksgiving is not a once-a-year, special holiday for being as overstuffed as the turkey. Thanksgiving is an eternal season of the heart, an overflow of the heart’s gratitude for all that God has done and is going to do and for everything one possesses, no matter how much or how little that may be.

Will you have Habakkuk’s attitude this Thanksgiving season? Don’t let Thanksgiving get stuck in your throat!

May the Lord touch you in a special way this Thanksgiving. May it become an eternal season in your heart.