Rug of Life

© Sheri * 2006

About the “Rug of Life” poem…

Because we are responsible for our own actions, and the words we speak, how we spend our time is important. What we continually feed into our brains will influence the person we will become.
After watching an inspirational movie, the imagery spoken of within the poem came to mind, kind of like a ticker tape, with visions of the rug...so I quickly wrote them down.
Originally, I had just written the poem. Because of my son, Nick, going into the Marines a few years later, I created the crosswords (also symbolizing crossroads in life; choosing what path to travel), and developed the shape and colors of the imagery. The red, white, and blue for the colors of the flag of our blessed nation, and the words of the poem taking shape of Christ on the cross. My prayer that I commend my son into His hands…and no matter what happens… “God’s love will prevail.”
The imagery of the cross, and the use of all the words in the crosswords are connected to the meaning of the poem itself, which is a reflection of how we should daily reflect upon ourselves as a person; how we gradually grow in Christ’s love throughout our lives. The words that remain up by the cross are those things in life that we choose to keep. The words below the cross are things in our lives that need to be relinquished. "Sin" is at the foot of the cross because living this life on earth as it is now, we will not be completely free of sin because of our fallen nature… falling below sin is "fear" and "hate," the root of sin, which are things we need to let go of, so their growth does not spread throughout our lives holding us in bondage by our sin. The cross is symbolic of God’s forgiveness; Christ dying for our sins because of God’s great love for us, so we may live in His love throughout eternity.
Update: Since I had first written Rug of Life and drew the imagery...my growth in Christ has shown me that I had forgotten to include God's Peace...should be up there with God/Love...His Peace...something we abide in more the more we abide in Him.