My brother and his wife honored me by asking me to be the godfather to their daughter, Alexia. (She's adorable). I was trying to think of something good to give her for her baptism. I didn't want go out and get something kitschy, so I decided to grab some afromosia and make a cross for her.
(I talked about afromosia at length here)
My mom was big on putting crosses in rooms throughout the house, so I hoped it was a Catholic thing and that my sister-in-law would find a good place for it. This was a while ago; Alexia's talking now. A couple days ago my sister-in-law said, "We love it; that's why it's in a prominent place." She put it above the door to her washroom/laundry room/door to the garage. It overlooks the kitchen and dining room, which in our family is a prominent spot indeed. Most all of the family gatherings are located about 90% in the kitchen.
I really wanted to give a gift that was something that they would like to display, and then maybe when Alexia grows up she might want to display it in her home. I decided to go with a simple latin cross. I thought about trying to make a celtic cross, but I decided that because we aren't Irish, it wasn't really worth making it more complicated.
The latin cross is simple. Its simplicity is, I think, part of its theological character. It's not ostentatious. Its purpose is obvious. In this case I think it was perfect.
Other reasons aside, I do think that it's easy to fall into a trap of wanting complexity because "complexity is fancy and fancy is good."I think there is a great deal of beauty and power in simplicity. I think this is a great example of that.
I'd be happy to put together a cross like this (or any cross design for that matter) for anyone that's interested. All you have to do is ask.
