Standing In the Shadow of the Cross

At a moment in the prayer service this morning, trying to avoid the sun in my eyes by standing in the shadow of the cross on the front of our building, I suddenly felt the urge to write this prayer, which I completed in within the time of a song that was being played there. I used the blank back of the program distributed that morning to write it. It just flowed right out, without pause.

Standing In the Shadow of the Cross
I am standing here, Lord, in the shadow of your cross.
I could not look upon you, Lord,
Were it not for that painful yet beautiful sacrifice.
But standing in its shadow, Lord,
I can look up at your light that would blind me
Were it not for the protection of your cross.
The brilliance of your light comforts me,
Warms me, illuminates me
And lightens my burdens.
Your light explodes
Behind the shadow of your cross, Lord,
To prove that you are indeed the Master of Death,
The giver of life, the provider of peace,
And the sole source of true and everlasting joy.
Amen.