Reminder in the Trees....

Sometimes on the blah days or bad days, we need a little reminder that we are loved.


I know some of you reading this may not feel very loved sometimes.  Life can make you feel that way.


To me, when I think of the ultimate picture of love, I think of the cross. The place where Jesus took nails and beatings and mockery and hatred and a cruel death for our sins so we wouldn't have to endure such a horrible thing.  The place where we can find forgiveness and hope.  The place where broken souls find redemption and healing.


John 15:13 "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  Jesus did exactly this...the cross was the most powerful display of love possible.

John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."  The painful sacrifice of God's son Jesus on the cross was motivated out of love for the world and can guarantee us everlasting life in Heaven.

Yes, when we are feeling unloved, it only takes a simple glance at the cross to be reminded that we are loved, loved so much that someone (Jesus, God's only son) gave His life for us.

A woman in our church had been telling me about a natural phenomenon that happens this time of year, around Easter, which is the holiday where we reflect on the cross where Jesus died, and the fact that he didn't stay dead but rose from the grave and is now alive in Heaven preparing a beautiful place for us.  She said that in the spring, near Easter, on the top of each branch in her pine trees something special would appear...

A cross. Crosses literally cover the trees like ornaments.

As my little girl and I gazed into the sky earlier today, marveling at this beautiful display of God's grace in creation, I was reminded that because of the cross, I can rest assured that I am most beautifully and sacrificially loved.

And so, sweet genuine girl, are you.  You are loved.