by Cindy Benedict
In 2003 I was dealing with a difficult situation in my personal life .My cousin told me because of circumstances around me, I was bitter.I did not see it.
In the summer of 2003, I did a VBS at the Presbyterian Church in Warm Springs,VA.The program was about the Cross of Christ and how it fits into our lives.I went to the church a day or so early. My class was high school students. One of the men in the church asked me if he could help me with anything and I told him I needed some wood to build a cross .That was on Saturday afternoon. I was going have my students make a cross for the church during VBS.
However during church, the Lord spoke to me, and said, “Hang the students on the cross.” Od course, I argued with Him, saying,” the parents would not like that!” But He insisted. ” Hang them on the cross!” So I bargained with Him saying, “OK, if that is what you want me to do, when church is over ,if that gentleman comes to me and says , ‘Is this what you want or something else?’ then I will know it is from You, and that is what we will do.”
Don’t you know that man came to me after church and said , exactly, word for word, that! So I said, “Actually I would like for you to build the cross at least 6 ft tall and install it on the edge of the parking lot as a ‘forever structure’.And so he did!
VBS started on Monday morning and when my class arrived I made this announcement. ” Today if you are willing, we will hang one of you on the cross , and we will do it everyday during snack time. You will receive no snack and no one will talk to you while you are on the cross.You will hang for 15 minutes. Your feet will touch the ground but your arms will be tied to the cross.When you get down from the cross, you will go to the classroom and write how it felt hanging on the cross while people were playing ,going about their day, and ignoring you.You have a choice to do this.Everyone chose to do it.It was an amazing VBS for me and , for them as well.
Remember, I told you it was a difficult year?Well, I was staying in the home of the pastor and his lovely wife , Rachel. Each morning , I had my coffee in their garden.Their house is directly beside the church and the parking lot backs up to a high mountain. Every morning , as I sat in the garden , a full mist came off the mountain and settled at the base of the mountain.Every morning, my time at the base of the mountain, amid the mist, was the most healing of times, I had. I feel God met me there, and we had blessed communion. He and I together for 5 days!
I left Warm Springs very blessed and healed that summer!
NOTE-I went back the following summer for VBS again. The children wanted to know if I was going to hang them on the cross that year.The students who graduated to my class that year were disappointed when I said,”No.”