Palm leaf cross

I admire this man.  As he stood in our food line across from the bus station, my eyes latched onto something he carried.  “Welcome.  Happy to see you today,” I greeted.  “I’m hoping you’ll tell me something.  I’m curious about what you’re holding.  How do you use them?”  Explaining that he rises early in the morning to climb the palm trees and claim these leaves, he then designs crosses and sells them during the day to earn $40 to pay his rent.  All the while he’s talking, I’m trying to imagine his final product that these slivers of palm leaves become.  “I won’t lie,” he says, “I was locked up.  But I don’t do drugs anymore.  I make these crosses.”  Honestly I wanted to continue talking, but our food line required moving along, so our team gladly bundled his dinner and added a nice bottle of cold water.  But then about 20 minutes later, here he comes.  We’re folding tables and cleaning up, and he wants to give me something.  Suddenly I realize, “This is one of your crosses, isn’t it?”  “Yes,” he replied, “it’s for you, and I’m not asking you to pay.”  So honored I felt that he would share with me, and my heart brimmed full of joy for his discovery of Christ.  What a huge hurdle he had stared down in the course of changing his life.  Reminding me of how God often blesses any single situation in multiple ways, the whole scene was humbling.  Having trekked downtown to serve hot dogs and snow cones to others, in turn I was fed a most nourishing meal of inspiration.  Romans 5:17 tells us, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”  Thank you, Lord, for making Your righteousness available to us all.