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JournalStories from Jerusalem
JournalJennifer wanted to give her parents something that would mean the world to them. She found an olive wood cross holding soil from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem: the place Jesus called his Father's house.
Every year around Thanksgiving I call my mom and ask what she and Dad want for Christmas. And every year I get the same answer: "Honey, we have everything. We don't need a thing."
So they get a gift card, a candle, a new throw blanket. They're sweet about it. And by February, the gift card is still sitting unused in the kitchen drawer.
My parents have been married 48 years. They've been in the same pew every Sunday for as long as I can remember. Mom leads a women's Bible study on Wednesday nights, and Dad reads his Bible with his coffee every morning. I'll be honest, I don't make it to church every Sunday anymore. But what the two of them gave me, I still carry with me.
This year I wanted to give them something that says: I know what really matters to you.
For as long as I can remember, my parents have talked about going to the Holy Land with their church. Standing, just once, where Jesus taught and prayed. It was always: "When we retire."
Now they're retired. But Dad has had heart trouble for two years, and Mom can't do a flight of stairs without stopping because of her hip. The trip isn't going to happen. They've never said it out loud. But I know it, and so do they.
"I couldn't give them the trip anymore. But maybe a piece of the place."
I searched online in the evenings: "Christian gift for parents," "meaningful gift." And then I came across the Olive Tree Cross: hand-carved from olive wood, with a small sealed capsule of soil.
Honestly, my first thought was: well, "soil from Jerusalem" probably just comes from somewhere in the area. A field outside the city, maybe.
Then I read on. And it isn't just any soil from around there. It's soil from the Temple Mount itself. From the very ground where the Temple stood, dug up in 1999. Sifted by archaeologists, numbered and certified.
And there will never be soil like this again. Digging on the Temple Mount is not allowed: no excavations, no shovels, not a single bucket. What was dug up in 1999 is all there will ever be. Every capsule is numbered, and once the last one is gone, that's it.
I sat at the kitchen table and read it three times.
The Temple Mount stands right in the middle of the Gospel. Mary and Joseph brought the newborn Jesus here. Here two old people, Simeon and Anna, had waited their whole lives to see the Savior. And when Simeon finally held the child in his arms, he praised God:
When I read that, I thought of my parents. Two people who have believed and waited their whole lives.
Later the twelve-year-old Jesus sat here among the teachers. As a man he taught here, day after day. More than 2,000 years have passed since then, and generations of Christians have passed these stories down. My grandparents to my parents. My parents to me.
And now there's a small piece of that very ground you can hold in your hand. Something real that connects you to more than 2,000 years of faith.
In 2004, archaeologists Dr. Gabriel Barkay and Zachi Dvira founded the Temple Mount Sifting Project to save this soil. Volunteers from all over the world sifted it bucket by bucket. Only after every archaeological find has been removed is the soil certified. There will never be more of it: every capsule is numbered.
Dr. Price has spent decades researching biblical sites, written numerous books on archaeology and the Bible, and taught as a professor at Liberty University. He is one of the best-known Christian voices in biblical archaeology and sits on Temple Mount Soil's advisory board. He has confirmed the authenticity of the Temple Mount soil.
"A piece every Christian should own in their home, while it's still possible."
Authenticated, sealed in an heirloom keepsake, numbered and certified.
And it's documented: every cross comes with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity, signed by the two archaeologists who founded the project. Plus provenance documents with a QR code you can use to verify it.
The certificate also explains why the soil is grey: it contains ash from the destruction of the Temple. The same Temple where Jesus taught.
Across from the Temple Mount lies the Mount of Olives. That's where Jesus went after his days in the Temple. And there, in the Garden of Gethsemane among the olive trees, he prayed on the night before he went to the cross. An olive wood cross with soil from the Temple Mount: in this one piece, the places where Jesus taught and prayed come together.
It was the absolutely perfect gift for my parents.
Before ordering, I wanted to know if it would arrive before Christmas and whether I could include a note. I sent an email and expected an automated reply.
Instead I got a friendly, personal message. They told me exactly when I needed to order by. And the gift message is free.
"I felt like someone was helping me, not trying to sell me something."
To my own surprise, I ordered a second one. For my front hallway. A reminder of what my parents gave me.
Hand-carved, about the size of a paperback (8 × 4.5 in). The soil capsule in the center, the numbered certificate beside it.
When the package arrived, I was surprised by how beautiful it is. Every cross is carved by hand, and the grain of the olive wood is different on each one. In the center sits the small sealed capsule with the grey soil. With it come the certificate, the provenance documents with a QR code, and a linen bag you can give it in right away.
We went to the candlelight service together, then back to my parents' living room. Mom opened the package, Dad put on his reading glasses and read the certificate out loud. Slowly, word by word.
Then the room went quiet. Mom held the cross in both hands, and tears ran down her face.
"So we made it there after all."Carol, on Christmas Eve
On Christmas morning, Dad hung the cross in the living room, right next to their wedding photo. And then he said something I'll never forget: "This stays right here. And one day it's yours."
I've given my parents a lot of gifts. This is the first one that will last.
"This was a birthday gift for my mom. […] she was incredibly touched by such a meaningful gift."
"What a beautiful, well made cross. The wood is magnificent and the Temple Mount Soil mounted in the center has such a profound meaning to me. What a treasure this is!"
"I purchased this as a Christmas gift for my husband, who is a Pastor. I loved it so much that I couldn't wait until December to give it to him. He loves it just as much as I do!"
"Beautiful wooden cross! Great craftsmanship also! Knowing that it is from Jerusalem makes this such an incredible gift to share with anyone you choose!"
I ordered directly from Temple Mount Soil. If you want it under the tree this year, don't wait until the last minute.
Reader tip: with the code BLESSED10 you get 10% off your order. Just enter it at checkout.
Soil from Jerusalem's most sacred site, in hand-carved olive wood, numbered and certified
P.S. In January my dad called me. For no particular reason. He just wanted to tell me he looks at the cross every morning over his coffee. My dad never calls for no reason.
Yes, I want to give this gift