The bandage

This bandage represents our need for healing, both for ourselves and for those we care about. Think of a specific disease, illness, or physical impairment that needs healing – perhaps something you are experiencing, or something a loved one is facing.

Take a bandage and write down the name of that specific condition or ailment. This act acknowledges the pain, the struggle, and the deep desire for wholeness and restoration.

Hold the bandage for a moment. Consider the hope for healing it represents.

When you are ready, bring this bandage to the cross. Affix it there as an act of faith, entrusting this specific need for healing – for yourself or your loved one – into the compassionate hands of Jesus, who bore our infirmities. It is a prayer for restoration, offered at the foot of the cross.

The Rock

The rock symbolizes the pains we carry, the burdens that weigh us down. Take a rock and write the relationships, the difficulties, regrets, anxieties, and the burdens that weigh you down on it. Feel the weight in your hand. Put it in your pocket for a moment. Feel its weight, a reminder of how these pains affect us. That’s what our pains do to us.

Before Jesus was crucified, he carried the weight of the cross on his back. This act demonstrated he can carry the weight of our burden, and he still carries our pain and sorrow so that we never have to carry them alone.

When you are ready to release these pains, trusting in the sacrifice Jesus made for us, take your rock to the cross and leave it as a symbol of giving your pains to Jesus.

The Paper

This paper is an opportunity to acknowledge the specific sins that separate us from God and weigh on our hearts. Reflect honestly on your life and choose a specific sin you wish to confess and release today.

Take a piece of paper and write down that sin. Be specific and honest in your heart. This act is a form of confession, bringing what is hidden into the light.

Hold the paper for a moment. Recognize the weight of this sin and your desire to be free from it through Christ.

When you are ready, take this paper and a nail to the cross. By nailing this paper to the wood, you are symbolically joining your sin to the sacrifice of Jesus. It represents acknowledging that He took our sins upon Himself on the cross, paying the price so that we might be forgiven and set free. Leave it there as an act of repentance and faith in His redemptive work.

The Crown of Thorns

Though truly the King of the Jews, the Roman soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head, treating him not like the true king but like an impostor. They mocked him and spit on him. All of us have experienced harmful words and lies that have labeled us and pierced our identities. Through Jesus, we can be restored to our true identity and made whole again.

Take three strips of paper and write any lies or hurtful words that have been spoken over you. Twist the strips, braid them together, and tape the ends in a circle. Take the toothpicks and pierce them through the paper, symbolizing the pain they have caused.

When you are ready, take your crown of thorns and leave it at the cross, knowing that it is Jesus who makes us whole.