Man of faith carrying cross to Grand Canyon passes through Wichita Falls

By the time Acie Burleson reached Wichita Falls on Tuesday night, he had carried a 45-pound cross hundreds of miles from Andrews, South Carolina, to be a walking memorial before God.

The 34-year-old father of four has been missing his family every step of the 2,229-mile journey to the Grand Canyon, but he feels compelled to deliver a message from God.

“I’m out here to tell people to pray and be ready for the coming of Christ,” Burleson said.

He had not slept much the night before Tuesday, suffered an upset stomach upon waking and developed his first blister since his trip began March 11 in Andrews, South Carolina. Burleson typically walks 12 to 20 miles each day.

He reluctantly hit the road Tuesday morning because “the Lord kind of sternly yelled at me, Go walk.”

“Yesterday was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had,” Burleson said. “But yesterday was one of the most awesome days at the same exact time.”

As happens on days when he just doesn’t want to hoist the cross on his shoulder, he met someone who was the reason God wanted him to walk alongside dusty U.S. Highway 82 with cattle trucks rattling past.

Kim Harden of Nocona stopped near Ringgold on the side of a bridge and asked what he was doing, 

“I tell her that Jesus is coming soon. You better be ready, and she starts crying immediately,” Burleson said.

Harden, who works in Wichita Falls, told him her sister was dying of cancer and only has a couple of weeks to live.

In a tearful live Facebook video, Harden said, “I got out of my car, and we prayed.”

“He doesn’t know how much I needed to see him,” she said.

Burleson said they prayed and hugged.

“You could see it was a God moment,” he said.

She gave him some cash and a devotional book.

“He came from so far away dragging that cross, and I hope that if he sees just a few more people like me that it helps them,” Harden said. “But you guys, especially you people around Wichita, look for him because he’s a fabulous person.”

In a telephone interview, Harden said Burleson brought her a sense of peace in the midst of doubt as a person new to faith enduring a difficult period.

Harden spoke from the Dallas area where her sister is in hospice care.

Burleson said he has experienced much generosity along the way, sometimes carrying a cross weighed down with drinks and snacks from motorists.

“I left with like a little over $20 in my pocket, and I trusted God with everything,” he said.

Every night he has had somewhere to lay his head, thanks to people’s kindness, Burleson said.

“I used to have a one-man tent sitting on the back of that cross. I eventually gave it away in Texarkana because I never used it,” he said.

Wherever he is on Father’s Day on Sunday, he will likely spend it resting and thinking of his family, especially his ailing grandmother.

“She raised me. She’s my mom in a sense. She blessed me tremendously. I want to be home so bad, but God is like, keep going, keep going, and it’s just killing me inside,” Burleson said.

He said his boss bought him cedar for the cross. He built it himself and spent $8 staining what was once a beautiful piece of woodwork.

Like Burleson, the cross is experiencing wear and tear. He has replaced its wheels once, shored it up with steel and worried Wednesday morning about a crack.

Burleson has followed U.S. Highway 82 since Texarkana, avoiding interstates. He said he is not allowed to walk on them.

“I have no idea which way to go tomorrow. I’m totally winging it. I’m just like, Lord Jesus help me get a good way,” Burleson said Wednesday.

And he said he has a favorite Bible verse, Romans 10:9-10: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."

Burleson is documenting his journey on his Facebook page, has a website at www.thecrossbearer.com and benefits from a Walking for the Way GoFundMe campaign.

When he first got saved, Burleson felt a strange draw to walk but never dreamed of where it would eventually lead him.

“I had no idea that I was going to walk for God,” Burleson said.

He might keep going after he gets to the Grand Canyon.

“I’m really tossing it up whether or not to finish up the journey all the way across America,” Burleson said.

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