The Story Of The "Cross Man"

Our Lord works His magic in many ways. This is one such story of how I believe He guided me to someone in need, the Cross Man.

A few years ago I worked as a service technician for a major medical company. I worked on medical patient handling equipment, i.e., beds, stretchers, and ambulance cots. My work required me to do a lot of traveling and I saw a lot of very interesting things out on the road.

I believe very strongly in God and believe that things happen for a reason. I believe that certain things are much more than coincidence. This is one of those stories that I hope will touch you, as powerfully as it did me.

One day I had a job at a hospital in west Texas. I left Edgewood, NM in the morning and headed out on my trip. Just across the Texas border, between a couple rural towns, I came across a man walking alongside the highway carrying a wooden cross that had a small wagon attached to it and he was waving to all the cars he met. I was on the phone with a friend at the time and told him I just saw Jesus walking down the highway. We laughed about it and I thought to myself that I’d like to find out exactly what this guys “crazy” story was but I didn’t have the time to stop and ask him and I thought he was probably just some local nut anyway. I got to my destination and finished my job and drove back home that same day taking a different route.

A couple days later I had another job in that same town and was back on the same road. Low and behold there was Cross Man again! He was several miles from where I’d first seen him and still walking along waving at all the cars he’d meet. As I drove by him he smiled and waved and I waved back and drove on. The urge to stop and find out what he was doing was there, but again I just kept driving.

I finished my job and strarted heading home a few hours later. This time I was on the same road that I drove over on and once again, there he was! This time however, he was sitting alongside the road by a historical marker. It looked like he was just enjoying the afternoon sun while taking a break. He waved as I went by and I waved back at him and, you guessed it, kept driving. I was on a tight schedule and had to get back to Albuquerque by a certain time as I had an appointment with another customer so I really didn’t have time to stop this pass. I drove on. Something kept nagging me to turn around. It seemed to be more than just curiosity this time. One mile, two miles, three, I kept driving while thinking to myself, “How could I just go up to him, if I had the time, and ask him what was going on?” About ten miles down the road it hit me… I had some bottles of water with me so I’d just go back and ask if he needed some water! Then, I’d ask him what his crazy story was! I decided to just take a chance on making it to my appointment and turn back.

I turned around and drove back with my brilliant plan. I pulled in and asked him if he needed any water and he thanked me and told me he was just fine with water. So, I blurted out, “I’ve seen you three times now and each time wanted to stop and ask you what’s up but decided not to. So, what’s up? What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” He laughed and told me that he was just out on the road spreading God’s word and right now he was just resting his two flat feet and one flat tire. I chuckled and told him that was great and asked him where he was from and where he was headed. He asked if I ever watched the “Andy Griffith Show”. I told him I had. He said he was from Pilot Mountain in North Carolina, which in the show was referred to as Mount Pilot. He said he was headed from there out to California! I think he said he’d been on the road for about 30 weeks already, WALKING, carrying that 2X4 cross, and pulling his wagon, with his little dog!!! I asked where he stayed and what he did for provisions and he told me, “God provides whatever I need!” Wow! Talk about faith! I asked what he meant when he said that he was resting his two flat feet and one flat tire. He said that the tread on one of the tires on his little wagon had come completely off and he was going to try and figure out how to fix it.

Now in the beginning of this story I told you that I work on beds, stretchers, and ambulance cots. Consequently, I had tools with me, but there was also something else that I happened to be carrying that day. Wheels! That's right, ambulance cot wheels! I told him he was in luck and hopped out of my van and went to the back and dug out a couple wheels. I told him that he was right about God providing! I grabbed my tools and went to his wagon and got to work. The wheel had to be modified slightly but with a little work, it went right on and worked just fine! I was going to do the other side of the wagon too but he insisted that the other side was just fine. I modified the other wheel anyway and gave it to him as a spare just in case…

We sat and talked a while and he told me about his journey and some of the people he’d met along the way. We talked about God and faith and I told him how impressed I was with his story and he just shrugged it off like it was no big deal. He said he just wanted to talk to people about God and knew God would take care of him… Some of the people that he’d met along the way had signed his cross and he asked if I’d like to. I told him it would be an honor and I signed it, “Wheel Man”. I wrote down his name and where he was from in my work notebook that I always carry with me. I thought that would be pretty neat to keep. I bid him farewell and he loaded up his belongings and his dog and hit the road again with 20+ miles to go to the next town.

In the beginning of this story I also mentioned that I strongly believe things happen for a reason. Well, I could have stopped the first time or even the second time I saw this “crazy” man, but I didn’t. I also could have kept driving the third time, but I didn’t. (Incidentally, the job that I had to get back to Albuquerque for by a certain time,,, called me and rescheduled for another day shortly after I left Cross Man!) The fact is, he didn’t need “ME” to stop the first time or the second time. He did need “ME” the third time I saw him. I ask you this, how many people driving down the road seeing him would just happen to have wheels that would fit his wagon??? Coincidence??? I don’t believe so! You can make your own decision but I truly believe that it was more than just a coincidence that everything happened as it did.

Several weeks later I lost the notebook with his name. I tried to remember his name, but couldn’t! I was devastated at first but then realized that his name really didn’t matter! It was what he had done that mattered! He had spread God’s word! Since I met him, I have told his story countless times, to many friends I know have also passed it on. Now, I’m posting it on the internet for millions to see and hopefully you’ll read this and pass it on also!

God bless you all and remember, keep FAITH!

Location: Between Ft. Sumner and Melrose New Mexico

Written by: Gary Birkman

NOTE: Quite some time after I had met Cross Man, I told my story to a friend who in turn later found a link about him and passed it on to me. Below is that link and a few other links to news articles written about Jeffery Stanley, the Cross Man, as he traveled across the country:

He Was Carrying A Cross...

Man Carrying Cross From Coast To Coast

Man Walking Across The Country Carrying A Cross

North Carolina Man Rambles Cross Country