Little Crosses Make Us Holy

Let's take a break from the story of my new job during the Easter Season with a little shot of poetry about "little crosses." We know we ought to carry our crosses out of love for Jesus. Saying it and doing it are two different things for many of us, especially when those crosses consist of little annoyances and sufferings throughout the day.

At work, they might be a co-worker whom we simply don't like or who doesn't like us, yet we're required to work together cooperatively - all the time. It may be a boss who's always obnoxious and - worse - incompetent. It could be our commute that's just long enough to irritate us daily. These could be our chances to prove our love for Jesus by our loving acceptance.

I'm not talking about things we can change here. If you can get a new job and cut down your commute, by all means do so. What I'm talking about are those little crosses that we really can't do much about. They are opportunities for sanctity, if only we would embrace them with love. I know, easier said than done.

But here's a little poem that reminds encourages us to see the little crosses of our lives in a holy light.

Splinters from the Cross

Little headaches, little heartaches,
Little griefs of every day,
Little trials and vexations,
How they throng around our way!

One great cross, immense and heavy,
So it seems to our weak will,
Might be borne with resignation,
But these many small ones kill.

Yet all life is formed of small things,
Little leaves make up the trees,
Many tiny drops of water
Blending, make the mighty seas.

Let us not then by impatience
Mar the beauty of the whole.
But for love of Jesus bear all
In the silence of our soul.

Asking Him for grace sufficient
To sustain us through each loss,
And to treasure each small offering
As a splinter from His Cross.
(Author Unknown)