The Treasured Cross

  Just after we were married, Al gave me a small gold cross on a chain that has become a special treasure for two reasons: it reminds me of Al’s love and devotion; and it also symbolizes the great sacrifice Christ made out of His love for and devotion to each one of us.   

   The original chain has had to be replaced several times as a result of getting snagged on something and breaking. In fact, our local jeweler in Porterville got very accustomed to seeing Al come into the shop with the necklace in need of repair. And the cross itself has been lost several times. Once I thought it was gone for good, left behind in a hotel when we were in the Bay Area. However, it amazingly turned up, half buried in the front lawn of our home in Springville a year or so later!

   That time, I had given up finding it and had begun wearing another one that belonged to Al’s mom. How the necklace ended up in the front lawn was a mystery and still is!  I was overjoyed to find it however it got there, and was amazed at the way God answered prayer in that situation.

   During our flight from California to Michigan last January, the cross got snagged on something protruding from the back of the seat in front of me. When I gave it a hard tug, it snapped off the chain.  Even though it was dark in the cabin of the plane, I managed to find it before it fell on the floor and stuck both the cross and the chain in my purse.

   With so much commotion and upheaval after our move I completely forgot about the necklace until weeks later. At that time, a search of my purse and jewelry box was unfruitful. It felt strange not to have it around my neck, like a part of me was missing. After pulling up deep roots in my native state, I felt like I was being sucked into the busy lifestyle and frantic pace of the metropolitan area in which we now lived and worried that my relationship with the Lord was becoming less important and losing its centrality to my life.

     Finally, at the end of October, I decided to look one more time before going out to buy a new cross. Another amazing discovery… both the cross and chain were underneath a few other things in the jewelry box. That was a happy day!

    After waiting so long, fixing the problem with the necklace only took a short time. When I had   tugged on the cross during our flight, the link connecting it to the chain was pulled open, causing the little cross to fall off.  There were two small gold plated rings in a repair kit that I had bought for a chain broken previously. So I decided to use them both to hold the cross on the chain. With the help of needle nosed pliers, they were pried open, inserted through the hole in the top of the metal cross and then clamped shut.  Very carefully the cross was maneuvered back onto the chain. Hopefully, the two little rings will keep the cross on the chain; if one breaks, maybe the other will hold.

   It sure feels good to have the necklace around my neck once again, a testimony of answered prayer, of salvation and of love that endures.

“I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.

  I love to tell the story, because I know ‘tis true; it satisfies my longings as nothing else could do.

  I love to tell the story ‘twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.”  Kate Hankey 1866 (“I Love to Tell the Story,” Hymnary.org)

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV