By Heather Tabors

I have a three year old daughter who is growing more and more independent and strong-willed every day. I’m sure you can relate if you’ve ever had a toddler in your life. The other night I got her into her jammies and brushed her teeth and then we knelt together beside her bed to pray, as goes our nightly routine. At the end of our prayer, we closed with, “Thank you for dying on the cross. I love you, Jesus. Amen.” … just like we do every night. But this night, there was something a little different going on in my daughter’s heart and mind. As we closed in prayer, Maddie pointed to the large, ornate, iron cross that I hung on her nursery wall when we moved into our home last year. I’m ashamed to admit that this cross had been nothing more than a decoration in our home until that night. Upon closing our prayer, my sweet little girl pointed to the cross and said, “Mommy, I have to touch the cross of Jesus.” Being familiar with toddler stall tactics, I continued trying to usher her into her bed, but she’d have nothing to do with it. “No, Mommy!” she said, pointing again to the beautiful cross. “I HAVE to touch the cross of Jesus.” Knowing that I wasn’t going to win this battle, I lifted her up and watched her chubby little hand reach out and with one pudgy little finger, she touched the cross of Jesus. With a smile she looked at me and said, “Thank you, Mommy.” A flood of emotions rushed over me. “No, thank you, baby,” I said as I tucked her into bed. Thank you, for reminding me of the urgency I should have to touch the cross of Jesus. When was the last time I had felt any urgency to reach out to my Lord? Thank you, for showing me the value of lifting someone else up to touch the cross of Jesus. When was the last time I went out of my way at all to bring someone to the cross? We tend to get caught up in our routines, our daily rituals… we easily forget the sacrafice made on that cross and we view it as nothing more than a decoration. Dear friends, it’s time to touch the cross of Jesus.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.