I wrote this a few years ago and I was honored that one of our Middle School girls at church memorized this and said it at a banquet at church. You can click on the link to hear..
By: Amy von Oven
I woke up in a daze. I felt out of sorts and wasn't quite
sure where I was. I began to walk around as if I was in some sort of twilight
zone.
There were lights and people everywhere. The streets were
crowded as children and adults ran faster and faster to get ahead of the crowd.
My heart began to race as the commotion grew stronger and stronger.
I stood in the center as if I were I statue frozen in
time. Parents and children alike dashed passed me, breaking me down faster and
faster.
There were tears and laughter and even screaming as people
ran by. What was going on? What could be this important?
I suddenly felt strangely cold as I wrapped my blanket tightly
around my shivering body. My curiosity began dancing around in my mind and I
was like a child in a candy store.
I had to know.... what was going on?
I followed the ever growing crowd as we walked further and
further into what seemed like the unknown. The dark clouds began to steam above
our heads. My stomach began rolling in knots and I followed the crowd.
My feet grew tired and my body was numb.
My mind was racing as I wondered if we walking after
anything at all. Could anything be this important?
This special?
Worth this?
Just when I felt like I could go on no more, I saw a light
coming from the center of the crowd and a man collapsed on the ground.
Who was it? Where are we? What is going on?
I made my way closer as I heard some laughing and others
crying; I was so confused.
And
then I heard the screaming….
"Crucify Him!"
"Crucify Him!"
WHAT?!? It was Jesus.... Could this
be real? This had to be a dream, but I was intrigued. I couldn't take my eyes
off of Him.
I looked around and realized I was really
in Jerusalem.
I watched as the crowd followed His broken and beaten body
all the way to Golgotha to be crucified. They yelled and
screamed and my heart broke.
I watched Mary as she watched her son. She watched as He
was beaten and hung on a cross. I looked deep into her eyes as I saw the love
and hurt.
In that very moment, I was taken back to the manger and
the moment it all began. You see, Mary gave birth to the Savior of this world.
She obeyed God and she loved Him and cared for Him. She trusted that God had a
plan. A plan bigger than she could imagine.
I wonder what so many must of thought as Jesus died on the
cross that day. Were they too taken back to the manger and the realization that
this truly was the Savior born to save us?
I think about the journey from the manger to the cross and
what He went through to teach so many, and yet it was not until He was gone
that so many really understood.
I thought about the journey of so many that walked that
road to Golgotha. The tears, exhaustion, cold and fear no longer mattered. What
mattered was that moment and that they believed. It wasn't how they got there,
but that they had followed the journey.
Without the journey from the manger to the cross....there
would be no reality that Christ loves us enough to walk through life with us, just
as we are. There would be no promise, no hope. The journey is a precious gift.
A precious gift teaching us patience, hope, love and perseverance.
Without the journey we would have no hope that it truly
does hold the most amazing and precious gift ever...eternal life.
