Billy and I were born and raised in the city. We had the typical pets growing up. I had dogs, cats, fish, birds, turtles, rabbits….all those kinds of things. I admire my mom for being so open minded when it came to pets. She loved life and got a kick out of seeing the personalities in these little creatures as much as we did.
A few years ago Billy and I moved here to our land….where there is a lot of life going on. It is around us all the time….even in the city…but for some reason…I tend to notice it more here. I have found that I see God in so many things like never before. I have seen the Bible come alive in a different way. In Scripture there are a lot of references to plants and animals. I think people many years ago could relate better than we do as a whole today. My family encouraged me to start a blog……intersting because I had already felt like that was something God wanted me to do too. I’m not a writer and I am not bold….but it is what was laid on my heart…so I did. And so that is why I share stories like this one today
We started our little hobby farm with four Holstein cows, now we have many different kinds of animals. Moses is one of them. He is our Jerusalem donkey, also known by other names as well.
He is very kind and calm. His previous owner said he couldn’t get to known him very well, Moses tended to stand off. When he first came to the farm…he was that way with us too. However, it didn’t take long before he would come up and seem to long for a little attention.
I was more than happy to give it to him….
so was Billy. Moses is still reserved, and calm today. I would have thought maybe all donkey’s were this way if I had only been around him. But his wife Zippy has shown us that is not true. She is very different from him.
There is something about his big brown eyes that steals my heart.
It’s as if I can almost see his kindness…..
Before Easter I had asked Billy if there was anyway he could construct a cross to put at the farm. It just seemed like the perfect place to put a cross.
He burned his hand the same night he had set aside to build it, so I assumed we would have to wait until next year to do it. I underestimated the determination of my husband. He doesn’t let anything stop him from accomplishing his goals.
The next day I was pleasantly surprised when I came up on the wood shaving where he had been working. He had indeed built the cross and placed it in the pasture.
It was then that I looked at the cross and Easter in a different way this year. I thought about the man that might have made the cross for Jesus. That was probably just his job. He more than likely made a lot of them in those days. But I wondered what he might have thought…after the crucifixion…looking down on the shavings of wood and knowing that he had built the cross that held Jesus.
Did he feel bad. But, he probably didn’t really know who Jesus was….did he?
I went on to the pasture. When I arrived I didn’t see any of the animals. But by the time I got to the gate…..Moses greeted me.
He actually placed his head through the gate opening to see me. I could have made him move back away from the gate so I could enter….but it was as if he just wanted me to spend a few quiet minutes with him…..so I did. There again my mind was flooded with thoughts of how Jesus arrived on Palm Sunday upon a donkey like Moses.
I can’t help but wonder why these creatures wear the emblem of a cross on their backs. Folklore….maybe so….but still…it does look like a cross. Maybe it is put there for us to remember…to reflect on our Lord, and the price that was paid for us.
After a few minutes passed I unchained the gate to enter. It was then that I noticed the post hole digger that Billy had used earlier. I flinched as I thought about his sore hand. Why just the night before he had sat with it in cool water to ease the burning sensation. It was now blistered and sore. Instantly I thought about the pain Jesus felt from scourging that he endured….before he even got to the cross. The pain must have been excruciating.
I draped a purple cloth on the cross…..representing Royalty.
Moses didn’t follow….which is unusual…he just stayed there watching.
I had brought some nails and a hammer so I could secure the cloth from blowing away with the wind.
I started to drive the first nail in….all I could hear was the sickening thud that it made. It was if all other noises around me had silenced….and this sound had been amplified. Tears filled my eyes and sadness filled my heart. How did the soldiers feel, the day they drove the nails into Jesus hands and feet. Surely they had done it before…it was their job.
What about at the end of the day…..after they saw the sky turn dark and the felt the earth quake. After they heard Jesus cry out…..Father forgive them….for they know not what they do…. WOW….I wondered what went through their minds, surely they didn’t really know. Did they?
On Good Friday, I placed a black cloth…..representing His death.
A ring of barb wire…represented the crown. Hmmm… you can know that I was very careful while I twisted the wire so as not to get stuck. I remembered the thorny bushes I encountered while picking black berries last year. Man……it just hurt….and the hurt didn’t quit after the stick…..yet, that was nothing in comparison. Once again I reflected on the fact that someone made the crown…..maybe they too looked down at their hurting hands and wondered about what had just taken place. Surely they didn’t know who Jesus really was…did they?
Sunday….was Easter!!!
Upon Waking….I made my way to the coffee pot when Billy asked me where the white cloth was…he wanted to place it before we went to church.
The White represented that the Lord had risen….the tomb was empty!
The next day I made my way over to the farm to take the cloth down, when I noticed all these prints at the foot of the cross.
I wondered who all had been there…..
I had not seen any of the animals anywhere near the cross whenever I had gone to or passed by the farm, but obviously some of them came. Curious I suppose. Maybe it was the cows?…the ponies?….the donkeys?….or the goats.
I suppose it is a lot like that today for us humans. There are some people we may never see at the foot of the cross…..but they have come….quietly in the privacy of their homes and hearts. Maybe out of curiosity….maybe out of a heart that wants to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
We’ve debated….do we take down the cross and put it back up next year?…or just leave it year round.
Yesterday I saw Zippy grazing.
Time has passed since Easter, the grass is green…the ugliness of the mud has gone away.
When I saw her…… perfectly content….I was reminded that I often forget about the ugliness of the events surrounding Christ. I enjoy all the green pastures in my life and often forget to do the one thing He told me and each of us to do.
Go…and tell others…..all over the world. Maybe that is why I felt God wanted this blog to exist. This is one form of sharing all over the world.
Perhaps that is why He talks to me in the stillness of my heart and mind, with the things I encounter daily. Maybe it is so I can be reminded that nature proclaims His glory everyday….and so should I.
I’ve often wondered if I would have believed back in the days when Jesus walked the earth. Would I have really known that He was the Son of God. Sometimes it seems like it would have been easier to have believed back then…because you would have seen all the miracles and…..and possibly seen Him face to face…
But I’m not sure I would have…..
I was born on this side of history…..I think for me it is easier this way. I am fortunate enough to have God’s Word to tell me of the past and the future.
I suppose in either time of life…..it comes down to faith.
What now?
What did the cross maker do?….The soldiers? The crown maker? Me and You?
What do we do with the knowledge we now have?
I share this with you because I find that this scripture really bothers me…..enough in fact that I must share Christ.
Luke 13:28
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
There are many interpretations of this scripture. Every time I read it….I think about the end of time….maybe this will be the way the ones we didn’t bother to tell about Christ will look at us. Look us…straight in the eyes….gnashing their teeth…as they say…WHY…WHY didn’t you tell me how important this was? Why?
WOW
What will you do with Christ? Now that you know.
Maybe you have been at the foot of the cross. Maybe you have already accepted him….if not I urge you, do it today. Please don’t wait…..don’t walk away without Him.
His love is so wonderful.
If you have accepted Him…GO…..Go share with others…just as He has told us too.
It’s not just a story…..it’s TRUTH.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I've Gone Country 