I concluded making crosses on the day before Easter. On that day I had crafted a total of 46 crosses since Ash Wednesday. I have mentioned before that our family have been members of churches of different denominations. Most of those denominations have not observed Lent. Not long after I first learned about Jesus and how God had sent His son to die for me, I was sitting in a Sunday School class in a Baptist church with other 7th and 8th graders. Our teacher suggested we give up something in the time leading up to Easter. This was an unusual suggestion for a Baptist Sunday School teacher to make. She explained that by giving up something we could more fully focus on the sacrifice of Christ. Ideally you would take the time you usually spent doing whatever it was you were giving up and you would read your Bible and pray. I remember struggling with which thing I should give up. The three that I struggled with the most as a 7th grader were giving up watching television, giving up talking with friends on the phone, or giving up drinking coke. And what is very strange is that I do not remember what I chose. Making the decision seemed to be the most difficult part because I couldn't imagine my teenage life without those things.
Since that time I have gone for years without doing anything special for Lent. But over the last few years I have either given up something or made a commitment to do something like read the Bible for an hour every day, etc. Making crosses has been the most meaningful of all the things I have done over the years. I think there are many reasons for this. I could not make a cross without thinking about Jesus and His sacrifice. Most of the crosses took time to plan and make which brought a greater level of devotion than I have given in the past. Making crosses involved community. By posting the crosses on Facebook each day I had the pleasure of sharing something very meaningful to me, in return many people were supportive and encouraging. One person often shared a verse in the comment section, several people commented that the cross reminded them of something. The firefly cross reminded my friend Susan S. of the lightening bugs from her past and that is exactly what they reminded me of. I was flooded with memories of running barefoot through the Saint Augustine grass and chasing lightening bugs, carrying my glass jar with holes punched in the lid. Later that night I would watch the lightening bugs in the jar before I went to sleep. My mom would then release the lightening bugs back into the night. 
Isaiah 28:16 “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.”
My dear friend Denise gave me a bag of buttons to use in making crosses. I made two crosses using her buttons. This experience reminded me and other Facebook friends of being children and playing in the button box or the button jar. I remember sitting on the floor amongst all the buttons, counting, sorting, letting them fall between my fingers. We (me, Denise and Shirley) were thankful in those memories for the kind of childhood that allowed time for creative play and for the leisure and joy of an abundance of buttons.
 |
| Palm Sunday Cross |
As I drew closer to Easter I wanted to add more overt meaning to the crosses. Until this time I had let the crosses speak for themselves but in making the crosses I began to want to have a theme. For these crosses with the fish my theme was the feeding of the 5,000! I like to think that just from examples from my life alone that God has a sense of humor. I hope He thought my little fish were funny. I used a rubber stamp and then colored each little fish with Prismacolor markers.(John 6: 1-15 Jesus feeds 5,000!)
Making crosses: day 42
His eye is on the sparrow...
His eye is on the sparrow...
The yellow cross was very special because my friend, Tiffany, gave me the wooden cross that I painted yellow and then "aged". He father made the cross, he works with wood to make beautiful things. I was honored to have his lovely cross as a base for mine. I love the artist David Arms; many of his paintings have musical-bird themes that speak to some aspect of faith. His Eye is On the Sparrow is a beautiful hymn that I had someone sing at my mother's funeral. I wanted to make a cross that honored my mother, Tiffany's dad and the joy we have in knowing that His Eye Is On the Sparrow....and I know He watches me.
In all the making of crosses I tried to stay away from secular themes. I wanted the crosses to be about Faith and not about any other things. I love to run and I had the thought of making a cross that celebrated the joy and the gift from God of running. But when I do something that is for God, dedicated to Him I want to make sure that my own stuff doesn't get mixed up in it. It never felt right to make a cross centered around running even though running is a very spiritual experience for me. I did possibly dip into my own bias when I made the cross with the star. I found the star in a store and wanted to use it on a cross. I searched my yard for something weathered to make the cross out of and found two landscaping stakes in the back of the property. It was all coming together and then as I began to paint it --clearly it became a Texas themed cross. It is hard to suppress TEXAS! I did not want the cross to be just another symbol of Texas pride. I remembered that I was first drawn to the star and then I remembered the verse: "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright Morning Star." Revelation 22:16
This was my favorite cross of all the crosses. I painted the base cross, then found some tiny pictures in Dr. Stanley's InTouch Magazine. I cut them out, glued them in and then used gesso to cover them. You can't tell from the picture but I also sprayed on an iridescent paint that makes the whole thing shimmer. I mixed some paint to make some colors that would go along with the mood of the pictures. I outlined some of the detail of the pictures beneath the gesso. I glued on the words "through a glass darkly". This has always been one of my favorite verses.
"We know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away...For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.(1 Cor.13: 9-10, 12 KJV)
The interactive nature of the project, the comments, memories and encouragement of others added so much more to this experience than I would have found if I had made the crosses in my little office and they had never seen the light of day/internet. Sometimes I was afraid I was calling attention to myself, 'Look at me, I'm creative!", or "I'm spiritual!" but that is not what my heart felt. When I had doubts I thought about all the times I am encouraged when someone posts a Bible verse on Facebook. I am bombarded with shocking and disturbing images in music, books on the internet, on television, on billboards, in stores, everywhere. I am always thankful for the glimpses of grace and for other believers who humbly share the Light.
This was my Facebook Post on the final day: "Making Crosses: 46th and FINAL day! I just finished the last cross. I will post it tomorrow for Easter! I just want to say that the cross of the crucifixion was horrific. I have tried to make attractive crosses in recognition of the beautiful gift Christ has given me. Anyone who accepts Christ is given eternal life but also (if we let Him) He will make all the unlovely parts of us beautiful. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ , he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." 2 Cor. 5:17"
He is risen, just as He said!
I will be looking for a project like this one to do again. I am thankful to Janet Elmore and the Making Crosses book by Ellen Morris Prewitt for the inspiration to start this project. It has blessed me and I hope others. I most hope that the crosses have been like the little fireflies released into the night from their jar to shine a small light into the darkness.
No comments:
Post a Comment