Sometimes God reveals the majestic in the mundane. For me it was a cup of coffee. A rocking chair. A calm canal…
The sea breeze untangled the knots from my weary nerves as a choir of birds sang revelry to greet the day. Myrtle bushes bursting with fuchsia blossoms splashed vibrant color across the sandy landscape, while the occasional jumping fish performed acrobatic feats for an audience of One.
Perhaps my favorite place in the entire world is the beach. God often seems to speak to me there—through intricately carved seashells scattered along the shore, through the soaring cry of gulls overhead, and through the steady rhythm of majestic waves rolling onto the sand. Creation itself feels like a whispered conversation from the Creator.
On this particular morning, I rose before the others stirred from their slumber. The cottage was still quiet, the world not yet fully awake. With a warm cup of coffee in hand, I stepped onto the porch to spend a few moments alone with the Lord.
I settled into a weathered rocking chair and slowly rocked back and forth, surrounded by the beauty of the coast. Just beyond the porch, a lazy canal meandered by as though it too had nowhere in particular to be. The morning light danced on the water’s surface like tiny diamonds scattered across the tide.
As I talked with God and thanked Him for the splendor of His creation—the colors, the sounds, the peaceful rhythm of the morning—my eye caught a reflection in the water.
Something about the shape of it made me pause.
Curious, I followed the reflection upward to its source. There, standing quietly beside the canal, were two pieces of weathered wood forming the unmistakable shape of a cross.
For a moment I simply stared.
Upon closer inspection, I realized it was nothing more than one end of an old, forgotten clothesline. The beams were worn and faded, likely unnoticed by anyone passing by. To the owner of the cottage, they were probably just remnants of something once useful but now left standing ignored.
But to me, it was so much more.
In that moment, I felt as though God had placed that simple cross there just for me.
All around me was the breathtaking beauty of creation—the colorful blossoms, the playful fish, the birds lifting their morning songs toward heaven, and the gentle movement of water through the canal. Yet in the midst of all that beauty, my eyes were drawn to two rough pieces of wood.
And I realized something.
Of all the wonders God has placed in creation, nothing displays His heart more clearly than the cross.
The cross was not a tragic ending to a noble life. It was the centerpiece of God’s eternal plan. What looked like the darkest moment in human history became the brightest display of God’s love.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
—John 3:16
What looked like defeat to the watching world was actually the greatest victory ever won.
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
—Colossians 2:15
Jesus willingly endured the suffering, the humiliation, and the nails so that we might know forgiveness and life.
“Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”
—Philippians 2:8
The cross reveals the lengths to which God was willing to go to rescue His children.
Scripture tells us, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
—1 Corinthians 1:18
As I rocked quietly on that porch, gazing at the reflection of that wooden cross shimmering in the water, I felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of what those two beams represent.
The love of God.
The sacrifice of Jesus.
The gift of eternal life for you and for me.
Two rough beams—nothing extraordinary by the world’s standards—yet they proclaim the most extraordinary truth ever told—for God so loved the world. It was on two wooden beams that God’s Son stretched out His arms and declared His love for the world.
Of all the beauty my eyes beheld that morning nothing was more breathtaking than the cross. For in those two simple beams, heaven declared the greatest love the world has ever known.
And friend, the cross was for you.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the cross. Through the work of Jesus on two simple beams of wood, You made a way for my forgiveness and eternal life. Help me never grow numb to the wonder of that sacrifice. While the world may see the cross as foolishness, I know it is the very power of God for all who believe. May I live each day in gratitude for the love displayed there. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
What does the cross mean to you personally? I’d love for you to share in the comments.
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Comments 31
Sharon
Tuesday mornings are a delight as I look forward to your devotional. !
Thank you
To me the Cross means that someone actually loves me and wants a personal relationship with me when no one else has the time. Thank you God!
Sharon
Tuesday mornings are a delight as I look forward to your devotional. !
Thank you
Author
Thank you! Please pass them along to your friends!
I shudder to think of where I would be without the cross. It is only because of God, Jesus, and the cross that I am still alive and upright. His strength carries me through the darkest days. Being a member of The Lost a Child Club is not an easy journey to walk. With God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit I will have Joy in my life here on earth until He calls me home. What a glorious day it will be to see Jesus and see my beautiful daughter again. She is forever 38 until that day!❤️
I too am a member of the Child Loss Club. The cross means I can live life fully with the joy He intends for me knowing that I will see my daughter again, and that means everything!
Author
I have one there I can’t wait to see too!
That was beautiful thank you!
I used to be so sad when I remembered what Jesus endured on the cross. It hurt my heart to know how He suffered. Still does. But then I remember it was because He loved me so much. The cross will always be special to me. Thank you Jesus!
The cross is everything meaningful to me! It’s where my old life ended and the new life Jesus gave to me began! I love your story of seeing the cross near the beach area! God has done that for me too in random locations…. a knitted cross bookmark I found at work one day and no one knew where it came from… is one example. Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I’m so thankful for Him in my everyday life! Thanks for the beautiful devotion this morning. God bless you Sharon! 😊
The cross means love and hope for me!!
As a young bride (married 9 months), my husband and I started going to a Catholic church (we were Catholic at the time) that had a teen group. We decided to get involved with it — they were going on a retreat one summer weekend. We went along as chaperones. The first night, I was sitting in the chapel praying. At the front of the chapel was a crucifix with Jesus on it. I believe I had a vision — Jesus stretched his arms out to me and said He would have done this even if I were the only person in the world. This vision is so clear to me, even now — 54 years later!! That changed my life. I am so thankful for the cross and for my Savior.
Author
So beautiful!
The Cross is everything fir life in the present and for eternity!
The Cross and the Resurrection mean everything. without them anything else is nothing.
Greatest act of love in history….thank you Jesus….
The cross is a reminder that he loved us so much that he was willing to die a horrible death for all of us. And those of us that believe and follow him we have eternal life, even though we don’t deserve it. It reminds me to be more like Christ. I wear a necklace of an old rugged cross, to remind me that God is always there.
Sharon – I too love the beach. While walking on a path at Ft. Foster in Kittery, with my family, my eye caught sight of a rock. Engraved in the rock was the cross. I picked it up and put it in my purse. (you are not supposed to take things from the park).
On a trip to Arcadia National Park in Maine, my husband and I walked along Sandy Beach. Again my eye caught sight of two pieces of driftwood, one in the shape of an upside down L and the other one in the shape of an L. I picked up the pieces and put one on top of the other to form a cross. (Again you are not supposed to take anything from the park)
Like you I paused to listen to the seagulls and take in the majestic beauty of the mountains reaching the seashore and thanked God.
The cross represents to me
“The Greatest Gift of All”
Beautiful story… thank you
Sharon like you I love the beach. While walking with my family at Ft. Foster in Kittery, my eye caught sight of a grey rock, and etched on it was a cross. I pondered it as my family’s motto is “My God Is My Rock.” I picked it up and put it in my purse. (you are not supposed to take anything from the park).
Again, my husband and I were walking along Sandy Beach at Arcadia National Park in Maine, listening to the seagulls, and admiring the majestic beauty of the mountains meeting the sea when my eye caught sight of two pieces of driftwood, one in the shape of an upside down “L” and the other in the shape of an “L”. I picked up both pieces and aligned them to make a cross. I thanked God for sending His only begotten Son to save us from our sins. I am always on the lookout for the cross.
Author
Sounds like God was speaking to you!
The cross means to me, I am forgiven and I am so loved. Thank you Jesus!
Sharon have neen reading for years, GIG.
This was particularly beautiful.
To me the cross is salvation.
💕🙏💕
For me, the Cross means eternal and everlasting unconditional love, pardon and propitiation of my sin, and glorious divine inheritance through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
Romans 5:5-8
I always believed Jesus died on the cross but when my heart opened up and realized He could have done it any way He wanted but God chose His son to be crucified for me and all that He loves that much Jesus gave it al
Your description of being at the ocean was so real. It is how I feel when I am there. Thanks for sharing.
“Creation itself feels like a whispered conversation from the Creator.”
Happy for you Sharon, being in a place for whispered conversations. Beautiful.
Whispered conversations come easily for me at a remote cabin in the mountains.
Grateful how these quiet moments remind how “whispered conversations from the Creator” also arrive in seemingly unlikely places. In the midst.
Thankful for Sharon Jaynes writing ☀️
Beautiful!
To me the cross means the Creator of all things wants to live within me, spend time in intimate conversation and have His Spirit give me the power to reflect His love to those around me.
This was absolutely beautiful and I needed it today. Seems like God always knows when I need something like this. That brings me to tears and makes me so thankful for what he did on the cross for me and all the rest of us. I can’t believe that some people can’t believe that he actually did that and did it for them.. When we think of how simple it is to follow Him for eternal life, I do not understand why they wouldn’t run after him. I love all of your writings and emails like this one
.
Thank you so much!❤️
Joyce
Hello Sharon,
Yes, agree with you and wonderful insightful message. Under Grace we live and Thankyou, for the cross in exchange for our living created life. Jesus saves!!!!!We are so blessed!!!