Aaron Neil White

1970-2006

For any who knew Aaron the symbol to the above would be familiar.  He would often doodle it on scraps of paper, place it next to his signature, or use it in place of his signature.  I myself have a sign that I use and it signifies a great deal to me; therefore, I suspected his did for him. 

In January I asked him if this symbol he kept drawing had any meaning. He smiled, you know that big goofy grin--the sneaky grin--but said nothing.  I asked him again, and commented that it looked like a cross to me, his smile widened but he remained silent.  Again I asked, is this your cross?

Yes, he said.

I asked him explain the design, and he did reservedly say only that the middle was suppose to be white, symbolizing goodness, truth, and the light of God; while the arms where suppose to be black and symbolizing darkness and evil that surround the goodness at the center.  He did not say much else though I gather it had more significance than what little he shared.  It may even have roots in his dark past, but like many things in our lives touched by Grace, it was transformed and became for him a sign of his personal cross, and passion.

When I heard him confess this, I could not help but tease him, "I knew it!  Your big, deep, dark secret is that you are a man of deep Faith who is Passionately in love with God!"  He smiled and said...

Yes.

Aaron's Cross, the symbol of his life, to embrace his cross.  The cross above was the insignia he used on much of his writing and artwork.  He used it in place of his signature.  Not much is know about the personal significance it held for him; however, a few weeks before his death he revealed that indeed it did signify his personal cross, and at the center, at the heart was the white symbolizing God.  It is fitting because at the core of Aaron, he is a man of God.