Before I can begin to explain its significance, I must start by explaining how this simple depiction of Christ came into my possession. When I was 16, I joined a group of student leaders on a camping retreat. Shortly after settling in, we headed deeper into the forested area where we were staying, taking in our beautiful surroundings. While on this walk I looked down and noticed, in the middle of the forest, this small figurine. The first thing I did was ask the chaplain who accompanied us on our retreat if it was his, but both he and my fellow campers had no idea where it came from.
Though no owner had been found, I couldn’t bring myself to throw this tattered necklace back on the ground so I resolved to clean it up.
However, a teenage attention span can only be stretched so far and as the weekend went on, I quickly forgot about the pendant.
It wasn’t until more than a year later that I discovered it again.
As I unpacked my bags in a hotel room where I stayed for a youth action conference, I found the pendant. Not wanting it to be lost all over again, I decided not to wear it and returned it safely to my bag.
The conference went on and though I may have been a year older, I must not have been any more attentive because upon my return home the pendant remained in my travel bag’s small compartment. That is, until I opened again to pack for university.
When I discovered the pendant in my bag, almost two years after my initial discovery, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Laugh at the circumstances, laugh at the small compartment I never managed to check and laugh at myself. It seemed like the only time I would pay any attention to the pendant was when I was travelling.
After safely and securely hanging it up in my room, I couldn’t help but reflect on how similar it is to the way we treat our faith.
We turn to God in times of struggle, whether it’s because of a journey we’re embarking on, a tough decision we need to make or another big change in our lives. What we often forget is that God is always there, whether we give Him attention or not. He is waiting for us to remember His presence. All we have to do is open our hearts, open our minds, or in my case, open the small compartment in my travel bag.
(Hurren, 19, is a media, information and technoculture student at Western University.)
Pendant’s symbolism shows God is always there for us
By Kevin Hurren, Youth Speak NewsWhen thinking about long journeys, a few specific examples may spring to mind. Some will think of Homer’s great Odyssey, others of Frodo’s quest to destroy the ring. Many of us will recall Jesus’ travels as He went from place to place proclaiming the Word of God.
I, too, think of Jesus when it comes to travelling, but in a slightly different form. The Jesus I think of is a small carved pendant attached to a dusty black string. Though modest in appearance, this pendant of Christ has gone through quite the journey and has come to mean a great deal to me.
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