# Bearing Our Cross **URL:** \ **Category:** SpareOom (New Messages)\ **Created:** [November 5, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://talk.spare-oom.com/t/bearing-our-cross/38536 "2026-11-05T23:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dzarechnak](https://talk.spare-oom.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@dzarechnak](https://talk.spare-oom.com/u/dzarechnak)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://talk.spare-oom.com/t/bearing-our-cross/38536/1 "2026-11-05T23:53:26Z")
In a letter to Mary Willis Shelburne of August 3, 1959, Lewis wrote: "You remember the Imitation [of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis] says ‘Bear your cross, for if you try to get rid of it you will probably find another and worse one’ " And there is a scriptural meditation on this exact thought in the Russian book, “Day by Day”: "Scripture: ‘Take up your cross and follow me’ (Matt: 16, 24) "Meditation: "There is a poem called ‘Exchanging a cross’. It depicts a tired, exhausted woman, weary from the weight of her cross, and dreaming of the possibility of exchanging it for some other cross, in the certainty that any other one would be easier. She fell asleep, and a strange vision appeared to her in her sleep: she found herself among a multitude of crosses of various sizes and types, lying on the ground. She was attracted to one – it was small and decorated with precious stones, in a gold setting. ‘So’, she thought, ‘this cross I could carry without difficulty’. However, as soon as she picked it up, its weight began to press on her: the gold and precious stones were wonderful, but it was too heavy for her. There was another cross nearby, entwined with lovely flowers. ‘This, certainly, is the one meant for me!’, she exclaimed, and quickly picked it up. But underneath the lovely flowers there were thorns which pierced her, causing her pain. Finally, she came upon a simple, unadorned cross, distinguished neither by its refined form or opulent setting, on which only a word of love was drawn. She lifted it up and as she carried it she became convinced that this was the lightest one of all the ones that she had tried. “And in the joyful radiance of heavenly light she recognized that it was her former cross, which she had disdained! In her frantic quest she found it, and it turned out to be the one most suited to her. Only the Lord knows what type of cross we need and what type we can accept. He judges it according to our strength; but we cannot judge the difficulty of trials sent to our fellow man. Disadvantaged and poor, we look with envy on the rich, but maybe the gold and precious stones make their cross heavier. Another life seems to us to be flowering and of unmitigated happiness, but we don’t see the thorns hidden underneath the wonderful roses. So, if we could try all the numerous crosses sent by the Lord to suffering mankind, we would undoubtedly be convinced that we would not have the strength to carry any one of them except our own, which God in His love has chosen for us.” Dimitry “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8) ---
**Author:** ![dzarechnak](https://talk.spare-oom.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@dzarechnak](https://talk.spare-oom.com/u/dzarechnak)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://talk.spare-oom.com/t/bearing-our-cross/38536/2 "2026-11-06T17:23:51Z")
Dan, I have an admin question. I was planning to call this post just “Our Cross”, but it didn’t have the necessary 10 characters. Is here a reason that you want there to be 10 characters? For example, I was thinking of making another post called “peace”, but that would also not have 10 characters. ---
**Author:** ![dan](https://talk.spare-oom.com/user_avatar/talk.spare-oom.com/dan/32/324_2.png) [@dan](https://talk.spare-oom.com/u/dan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 8:03pm UTC](https://talk.spare-oom.com/t/bearing-our-cross/38536/3 "2026-11-06T20:03:07Z")
Made this topic a personal message on November 6, 2026, 8:03pm UTC ---
**Author:** ![dan](https://talk.spare-oom.com/user_avatar/talk.spare-oom.com/dan/32/324_2.png) [@dan](https://talk.spare-oom.com/u/dan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 8:03pm UTC](https://talk.spare-oom.com/t/bearing-our-cross/38536/4 "2026-11-06T20:03:24Z")
Made this topic public on November 6, 2026, 8:03pm UTC