At the cross

Near the cross, a trembling soul,

Love and mercy found me;

There the Bright and Morning Star

Sheds its beams around me. 

 --Fanny Crosby

I've been watching all week as these flowers slowly open, thinking about how people also open up when they come near to the cross and experience God's love. Fanny Crosby writes about the transforming power of love in the classic gospel hymn, "Near the Cross." I was at a Christian concert in Memphis the first time I truly felt embraced by God's love. It was 1984, and I was a freshman in college. Some friends invited me to go with them to see Second Chapter of Acts. I had never heard of the band but was pleased to be included in the group of concertgoers. Though I had never told anyone, I had felt for a couple of years as if God were angry with me for reasons that I didn't really understand. I had been raised in the Church, read my Bible daily and tried to do what is right. But I had not attended worship in years. Looking back, I can see that I was missing being part of a community of faith. At the concert that night, I was deeply moved by an almost overwhelming wave of love that seemed to emanate from the band and encompass everyone in the crowd. In that moment, I knew that God was not angry with me. God had never been angry with me. God surely did not like every decision I had made (or would make) but God loved me, and I loved God, and I loved being in a place where I could worship God with every ounce of my being. I still do. Praying today that you find yourself engulfed in love and mercy.

Photo by Jolinne Balentine-Downey