We found an unexpected jewel in Kerrville, TX this
morning. While we were packing the car
to head back to Fredericksburg, TX, my wife noticed this gigantic iron cross
standing on a hill behind our hotel. I’m
not sure how we missed it the day before, considering we drove right by it on
the way into town, but I’m guessing that it must have been that the dark red
iron was somehow camouflaged against the blue sky.
So, we took an unplanned detour to The Coming King Prayer
and Sculpture Garden. There were several
sculptures by the entryway with the main garden being situated on the top of a
hill, a windy drive up to it. The garden
itself was arranged in the shape of a cross.
You start your walk through it from the foot and work your way up the
trunk, around the arms, and end up at the head.
Your journey takes you through significant events in the
life of Jesus, starting with a sculpture of Him holding a fishing net. He’s looking out into the distance, giving
you a sense that He’s calling to Peter on his boat and asking him to follow Him
and be a fisher of men. As you make your
way up the pathway, you’ll notice Bible verses embedded in the ground, each
verse proclaiming Jesus’ purpose, His love, His power, His majesty, or His
divinity. What’s equally special about
the verses is that each one is depicted in Spanish, English, and German (a
tribute to this area being an early German settlement). Seventy-seven verses in all speak to you as
you make your way around the garden and back to the beginning again.
From the trunk you branch off into the arms. On one side you view a sculpture of Jesus stripped
down, hair hanging in His face, down on His knees, washing His disciple’s feet. The power of that moment etched in bronze, teaching
us by example to be servants to each other.
On the other side is a large globe with a Bible at its base, open to the
Great Commission at the end of the book of Matthew, empowering us to go and
make disciples of all men, sharing with them the gift of the cross.
Your journey comes to its climax at the head where you’re
dwarfed by an enormous 77-foot iron cross.
It is visible for miles in every direction, calling people in to
experience the ministry of Christ and how He died for each and every one of
them, so they would finally have a way into Heaven. It stands empty, symbolizing that Jesus is no
longer on it, but is now in Heaven with the Father.
There is an ambiance in the background as Christian music
continuously plays, filling you with peace as you stop and admire the detail
and craftsmanship in every sculpture.
The story goes that a musician was driving along I-10 when the Holy
Spirit laid it on his heart to exit it off the road. He obeyed and found himself in The Coming
King Prayer and Sculpture Garden. He was
immediately overwhelmed by the presence of God in the place and spent the next
40 days in prayer and worship. At the
end of his pilgrimage, the Holy Spirit once again spoke to his heart and told
him to donate all of his musical equipment to the project. He once again obeyed and within days a sound
system was set up in the gardens. It has
continuously played worship music for visitors for the last five years.
You are encouraged to pick up a rock from the surrounding
grounds and write a personal message on it.
There is a pathway etched in the rocks from visitors over the
years. Some leave their favorite Bible
verses, some a testimony of thanksgiving, some a prayer for blessing or
healing. Whatever message you’re
compelled to write, you can nestle it in with hundreds of other voices all
sending their words into the brilliant sky above.
If you decide to go and visit this beautiful place, which I
definitely recommend you do, be sure to say hi to Tom and Mary for me. This wonderful couple is chaplain at the
gardens, and they greeted us with bright smiles and hugs. They openly gave us their testimony and
prayed for our journey. Obviously, by
the fact that I spent so much time describing it, you can tell I was very moved
by this experience. It’s going to be
hard to top that with describing the rest of the day, but I’ll try.
We did go back to Fredericksburg, TX only to be thwarted
again! This time the candle shop was
open, but the lady wasn’t there making candles.
So, the detour was a waste. I
hustled my wife out of town before she could find something else to buy. After a quick lunch, we headed on to Lost
Maples State Natural Area.
Walking down the trail to the pond brought back many
memories from our wedding eleven years ago.
I harangued my wife with stories about my groomsmen and I being
mistaken for a mariachi band as we hiked in full wedding garb and carried the
equipment to erect her dress-changing pavilion.
She made me laugh with stories about her bridesmaids struggling to carry
her wedding dress across the stepping stones in the river and the photographer
wanting to take their picture every five minutes.
The pond where we said our vows was still exactly as we
remember it, only without a troop of Boy Scouts running around, screaming and
laughing. We followed the path taken by
the wedding procession as they made their way around the trail and down through
the trees to where I was standing with the pastor. On the very same spot where it all started, I
asked my wife to go another ten rounds with me.
I’m a little disappointed to admit that there was not an
immediate reply. She gazed out over the
pond, seeming to be giving it deep thought.
I squirmed uncomfortably in the heat and the awkward silence that
followed. Finally, she gazed back into
my eyes, making my heart sound like Animal from the Muppets, and said, “Sure,
why not.” Not exactly the romantic declaration
I was hoping for, but I’ll take it. We
then shared a steamy, gooey, very satisfying (if I do say so myself) Fig Newton
cookie before heading back to the car.
Not much else to tell, except my allergies flared up, and I
got a migraine. Tomorrow is a day of
much needed rest, hopefully with very little sitting in a car.
