Friday, October 30, 2009

learn to love change

School books lie stretched out before me, as does most of the day. A candle burns on the table, its wax turning into a dark pool of fragrant heat. Soup boils on the back of the stove, lending its fragrance to the air.



Outside, the wind blows restlessly; it tickles the trees, trying to make them give up the last of their leaves, and letting a hint of moisture creep throughout its invisible arms. The wind longs for winter – its playground – for it is anxious to play with the snow that is soon to come.

A chicken has escaped her pen, and is pecking at the ground in search of who-knows-what. The dogs begin to bark, shattering the silence like a piece of glass – you can almost see the pieces floating in the air…and then they settle, and you wander around, trying to find where Silence has hidden.

Another leaf releases its hold and glides down to meet its sibling on the ground. A human hand cannot stop it.

So many things happen during the day that we cannot control. Something with always disrupt the schedule. And no matter how hard we try, we can’t stop the leaves from dying and falling. Winter must come – the wind cannot hurry or slow it. And if we cannot grasp the wind, how much less control over the seasons we have!

The day is still there, unchanged. It is I who has changed. The things out of my control get in my way. But today, I will let them go, like so many leaves in the wind. I will thank God for the beauty of each imperfect, unpredictable day. And I will look forward to every change.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Silence

I slip in my earphones, and carry my camera through the woods, lost in thoughts and music. The forest is pretty, but nothing special – already the bright autumn colors are dimming and most of the leaves lie dead on the ground.



I follow Dad and my little brother on a deer trail. My hat and my jacket keep catching on briars and other plants that have thorns. Finally, I turn of my music and shove the thing in my pocket. And I just listen.

Mentally tuning out the soft chatter of my companions, I hold up my camera and – for once – make myself look through the camera’s eyes, instead of trying to make it see the world through mine. I see the sunlight falling through branches and touching them with light. I see the pine needles mixed with leaves creating a soft carpet beneath my feet. I see all the photographic values in the shapes of the nature around me, and I breath in the cool October air with a joy growing inside of me like sunshine lighting my life.



I can FEEL the silence all around me. It’s heavy and pure and makes me want to make a noise. But I don’t. I just listen to the silence, and I relax in it. Lord, please speak to me in the silence…guide me from my chaotic noise. Push out my busy thoughts. Shove off from the world that never stops making noise…and explore the quiet, misty sea of silence that exists all around us – if we know where to look for it.



I’m soon off walking again. The memory stick for my camera is full, so it goes back into my pocket. I’m feeling drowsy and ready for a nap, so I hurry to catch up with Dad and Caleb. The silence is gone for me. Already, I’ve given in to the world and shrugged off the peace in the silence.



And yet I expect God to speak to me – through the TV, music, the internet, books, tapes, and my swirl of thoughts that never stop going. Because if I stop thinking about the world and my life, I am forced to let God into my mind and heart. The water takes me away, and I am frightened. I don’t want to drown in God’s peace and quiet; I seek the comfort of noise. I’m afraid to put God in control again. God, what do you think you are doing? This is my life, I had plans. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. So I take the wheel and pilot myself back to shore.



Later I’m reminded that I’m feeling rushed and I don’t want to be. The water laps at my feet. Teach me to let me let You take me away…

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

26 things - a photographic scavenger hunt!

Okay, so, for the month of September, I tried a do-it-yourself photography "class" (haha), called 26 Things. It wasn't my idea, though, so don't give me any credit. What you do, is you get a list of 26 things (I got several online, but you could probably just make up your own) and you take a picture that represents that word - in your mind. And you have to do this in one month. It sounds easy, but it's not. Some of the words are harder to represent than others; but it was definitely fun! I completed September...but not with "flying colors" - I'm hoping to do better for October! We shall see =). Enjoy the photographs, though:

1. Couple (aww! lol)


2. Slope (of course that word makes me think "ski slope", but the snow isn't here yet :( )


3. Plate (microscope plate xD)


4. Going Places (oh yeah, I am SO going places ;)


5. Scrambled (a beautiful mess, eh? LOL!)


6. In The Distance


7. Underneath (can you see the word through the water bottle?)


8. Bright (there are so many definitions of this word; since I was running out of time, I just chose this one)


9. 11 pm (actually, this isn't a night picture...but it looks like one! I took a picture of a clear ruler THROUGH a microscope; right at the last second, I moved a little, so the picture turned dark. So it looks like a fence in the dark :D)


10. Today (this is really showing me how much I need to work on creative photography...)


11. Everyday (this is something I totally view every day...but I tried to make it look more creative than just a closet :P)


12. Resemble (shadows are perfect :D)


13. Childhood Memory (perhaps not in the literal sense..haha)


14. In The Water (a pond at Kingwood Center sufficed :)


15. Flower (just a simple one, in the field on the edge of our property :)


16. Button (ah, too hard to get one singular button...lol)


17. Heritage (this is one of my favs)


18. Glow (I love this candle!)


19. Clock (duh)


20. Closed (this one definitely lacks originality xD)


21. Smile (this one is random...I didn't feel like putting my smile that close to the camera, or trying to get just a plain picture of a smile...and, hey, at home, my options are limited :P)


22. Back


23. Plastic (and the perfectionist in me is crying "I wish it was at a better angle!" lol)


24. Handle


25. In My Fridge (sorry this one is not very creative...)


26. Looking Back At Me (this one was fun!)


Thanks for going on my photography journey! There will be another post for October, so check back at the end of this month...:D