by Sarah Earlene Shere, ©2025
(Apr. 19, 2025) — Hanna, the little hyrax, struggled to climb the rock. To avoid suggestions and criticism, she practiced at night, when her family and friends were asleep. For the third time in a row, she tumbled to the ground. This time, she landed quite near the body of a young Man. He was stretched out, His face to the ground, weeping and praying in a tongue she couldn’t understand.
Hanna suddenly forgot her own troubles. Her heart went out to this Man Whose sweaty brow was forming drops of blood which began to fall to the ground. Suddenly, she noticed another man, all in white, sitting on the other side of Him. This man, whose face seemed to radiate light, gently reached down and effortlessly lifted the Man of Sorrows into a seated position under his arm.
The luminous man then turned his face toward Hanna and smiled. Gently, he lifted her and handed her to the Man he was trying to comfort. Hanna wanted to help, but she didn’t know what a weak little thing like herself could do. The weeping Man accepted her into His arms, against His chest. As He began to pet her, she could feel His racing heartbeat slow down to a normal rate, then He began to regulate His breathing. Finally, He looked down at her, smiled and whispered, “Thank you.”
***
Days later, Hanna was, once again, struggling to climb some rocks. Finally, just before the rising of the sun, she made it all the way to the top! But, before she had time to rejoice, a violent quake shook the ground. Below her, she saw a familiar luminous man rolling away a large stone. When he was finished, he sat on it, looking quite pleased with himself. In all this, Hanna lost her footing and fell. She closed her eyes, ready for impact. Instead, she felt caught and drawn into arms against a warm chest. Looking up, she recognized the Man of Sorrows from a few night before. However, in the glow of the coming dawn, she noticed a light in His eyes as He said to her, “It appears we both accomplished something monumental this morning!”