Margaret Duarte

Visionary Fiction

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Holding Cross

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Last Friday, I attended a memorial service for my friend’s mother, Eileen.

While sharing Eileen’s life story, the minister held up a Holding Cross and said that it had given Eileen comfort during her final hours.

The Holding Cross, he explained, was specially created to give patients something meaningful to hold on to in time of need.

It’s not a traditionally shaped cross, but smooth and with rounded edges to make it feel good in the palm of the hand.

I instantly feel in love with this sacred symbol and the idea behind it, and I wanted one for myself (though I’m hardly sick or infirm).  It would be a comfort, I reasoned, to hold the cross any time I was in need of divine inspiration.

Every day is full of new discoveries, and since I believe in the value of spiritual tools, no matter what their religious origin, I considered this a great find.  I pictured having one at my bedside or in my purse, and I thought it would make a wonderful gift.

On the Holding Cross website, I found the Holding Cross story and discovered that the cross is used in 18 denominations and 21 countries to bring comfort in myriad ways.

It’s such an uplifting story during a time of endless bad news that I wanted to share.

As always, thanks for stopping by,

About Margaret Duarte

Former middle school teacher, Margaret Duarte, lives on a California dairy farm with a herd of “happy cows,” a constant reminder that the greenest pastures lie closest to home. Margaret earned her creative writing certificate through UC Davis Extension and has since published four novels in her “Enter the Between” visionary fiction series: Between Will and Surrender, Between Darkness and Dawn, Between Yesterday and Tomorrow, and Between Now and Forever. Her poem and story credits include SPC Tule Review; The California Writers Club Literary Review; finalist in the 2017 SLO Nightwriters Golden Quill Writing Contest; First Place winner for fiction in 2016, Second Place winner for fiction in 2018, Honorable Mention for fiction in 2019, and Gold winner for fiction in 2020 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLISHERS AND AUTHORS Book Awards Competition; 2019 California Author Project winner for adult fiction.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kay L. Davies says

    What a wonderful object, Margaret. It does indeed look like it would be comforting to hold.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

  3. Dorothy Ann Skarles says

    Hi Margaret, I really like this story. I didn't know about this cross, but I feel it would be very helpful to have.

  5. L.A. Lopez says

    Margaret that is a wonderful idea. I think I'll check that out. My SIL is recovering from Chemo, from ovarian cancer. I know she'd love this. She has a very deep faith.

  6. Margaret Duarte says

    Hi Lee. I think this cross would help anyone in need, even those who don't consider themselves "religious." It's a symbol of the Great Spirit and the idea that we're not alone, something we can all use when times get tough.

  7. Holding Cross says

    Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea. I believe that this holding cross can be very helpful.

  8. Margaret Duarte says

    You're welcome, Holding Cross. I wrote this article over a year ago and your comment reminded me of someone who could really use a holding cross right now. I'm sending for one today.