Some people talk about the invisible “crosses they bear,” but it was plain to see what weighed on a traveler walking through Greenwood on Monday afternoon.
“Cross Carrier” Chuck Johnson passed through Greenwood carrying his approximately 35-pound wheeled cross on his back. Making his 12th trip across the United States, Johnson said he has been walking with his cross for more than nine years.
“I do it to remind people that they need Jesus in their life,” Johnson said. “It’s just another tool of witness.”
The cross he carried Monday was made of wood. Johnson said it was donated by a Wal-Mart in Garden City, Kan.
“This is my fifth cross. They tend to break and crack,” Johnson said. “When that happens, I’ll just make a new one.”
Johnson, 48, originally from Anaheim, Calif., occasionally gets rides along his routes, and if he has the money, he stays in hotels where he can wash clothes and shower. He said he spends about 10 days a month outside. He tends to walk the South in wintry months.
“It’s been quite a journey. I’ve had nine guns put in my face and a million fingers,” Johnson said. “But I’ve also been helped by a million people.”
Johnson said he goes “where God tells me to, and the Lord provides.” He said the most beautiful thing he has seen on his journey has been the kindness of people.
“I’ve walked through rich neighborhoods where they’d call the cops before they’d offer any help,” Johnson said. “But I’ve also seen people living out of their cars who would give $2 to help me out.”
Johnson said he wasn’t sure when his journey would be over.
“My love is where the cross is,” Johnson said. “I’ll stop when God wants me to. Would you want the Lord to quit on you?”
Johnson said he was working on a book about his journey, including some of the more brilliant moments along the way. He said he wasn’t sure when it would be completed, but he plans to title it “I Carry the Cross, God Does All the Work.”
While Johnson stood on Park Avenue and talked about his journey, three Greenwood residents came over to hear his story. Before taking up his journey again, he requested they pray with him.
“It was amazing to see someone out witnessing with the passion he does,” Matthew Johnson said.
Shelli Acy and Cassie Scates said they admired his dedication to his faith.
“To have a relationship with God is awesome,” Scates said. “But to take every step for him is the ultimate.”
