I got up this morning and picked up a cross…
A cross of worry about what will come today.
Right after my shower I picked up another,
What will come tomorrow, this month, this year?

Before my breakfast I took another…
I worried about how my kids will change and grow.
Who will they become? What will they believe?
What do they do when they’re alone?

Locking my door I found another…
The house and car are breaking down.
There’s no money. How will we live?
I left troubled, uncertain, and alone.

Driving to work, I added another…
What would I do if I lose my job?
My pay is poor. The company is failing.
I feel helpless, tired, and trapped.

During my day I took-on more crosses.
They create emptiness and cause me pain.
They hang on my neck and pull me down
Clinging together in worry and distress.

I remembered another on my way home.
Myself as a parent, a husband, a friend…
There are so many things I need to change.
To these efforts and failures I see no end.

I looked in our mailbox and saw all our bills.
And one more cross I took on my doorstep.
When will we live without worry about money?
How will we ever get out of debt?

Another cross painfully made its appearance
As I stretched down to remove my shoes.
My health and my life are quickly slipping away.
They are getting worse every day.

But as I looked up, lifting all of my crosses
A bright light surrounded my faint body.
I fell on my knees in complete surrender
And saw my Saviour looking back at me.

“I came for your crosses.” He said to me softly.
“I think you’re confused.” Jesus spoke again.
“These aren’t yours to carry and worry.”
I was relieved… and happy… and crying…
To hear that He would take my crosses away.
But as I reached to take off my crosses
I hesitated. Somehow I wanted them to stay.

I cannot explain my choice and confusion.
I don’t understand why I can’t let them go.
Somehow I feel more secure carrying them
Because I can see them and I feel in control.

Just then my Lord smiled in great understanding
Of this conflict deep inside of me.
“I think the question is whether you trust Me.”
He added, “Do you truly believe in Me?”

“Do you believe in me so strongly
To take all your worries… all of your cares…
And to allow Me to now carry them…
For me to show you how to handle them?”

I still hesitated removing my crosses
Then I realized that living in fear
Is a lot more painful than trusting Jesus
Who gave his life to set me free.

As I stood up feeling uncertain
He was still looking peacefully at me.
“Could I just ask for you to now carry
The cross on which they crucified Me?”

“I will now carry your burdens and crosses
And you will now carry the one that is mine.
To love Me and to love one another.
Tell others of this freedom. Tell others of me.”

“Bring me more crosses of others to carry.
Bring me their sadness, confusion, and pain.
I will exchange them for freedom that’s in me
And ask them instead to just carry me.”

“You go through life carrying wrong crosses.
These are for me to carry and care.
You must believe in me. You must trust me.
And carry the cross where they crucified me.”

Orignally written on July 18, 2007

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