Back to the Beginning

Dripping in Diamonds

When I awoke this morning, the woods outside my kitchen window were sparkling, as if they had been showered in diamonds. My heart began to race. It’s been over a week now since I sent both of my camera bodies away to be repaired. After a solid year of shooting every day, I felt like I was in a drought. A kind friend loaned me a camera this week but when I picked it up, the battery was dead. While rummaging through my camera box  for another battery, I found my old Canon Rebel XT. A sight for sore eyes. I picked it up and it fit into my hand, like an old friend. I slipped on my green rain boots, neglecting to change out of my plaid flannel pajamas. I was a sight I am sure, purple and pink plaid with tall lime green boots, practically sprinting into the woods.

I knelt down trembling, hovering over the dewy earth. This was a visual feast, and I had been given a seat at the table. It was if God  himself was extending a personal invitation to me. “Come, eat.”  Hmmm, yes.

The morning sun met yesterday’s rain, still clinging to webs and blades of green. With my knees cold and wet, the briars tugging at my clothes and hair, I remembered. This is where it all began for me. This is where I first felt my heart beating nearly out of my chest. This is where I marveled at the glory, the detail, the splendor, in a whole new way. Every artist knows it well. That moment when you know you have to be part of something or you just might die. I knew then that I wanted to be part of capturing the glory. I wanted to put it in my pocket, saving it to show others and bring them along. “Look at this!” I want to say to everyone I meet. “Look at what creator God can do.” He spills out diamonds after the rain so we can remember that hope is always a morning away.

New Mercies Gleaming

I sympathize with David, who danced in his ephod in front of everyone. He had to worship, discarding anything that might hold him back. His own wife thought he was mad. I wonder if I am too sometimes. Walking around the woods in my pajamas and rain boots is not a new thing for me. (okay, I do it a lot)  I often forget myself when I see the beauty through my lens. It is worship for me as well. I see the attributes of God through creation, and hear his voice when I am in this place of awe. I am also humbled by creation which often worships him much more appropriately than I do. Everywhere I look, I see nature pointing back toward him. This earth knows its maker, and longs for all to be made new. Flowers, trees, grass, they all strain upward into his light and warmth. I feel this resonating in me as I walk, crawl and climb to catch a glimpse of his glory through my lens. I too long to gather his robe in my hands, to see his glory passing by.

I do not think it is a coincidence that I found my XT today, a camera I previously would have thought useless to me. I see God’s provision more clearly now through simplicity, after going without my bigger cameras for awhile. I don’t always have to have everything I think I need. God alone is my source, and I am incredibly grateful that He reminded me of that today when He took me back to the beginning.

Psalm 136:4-9 ~ “Thank the miracle-working God, His love never quits. The God whose skill formed the cosmos, His love never quits. The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations, His love never quits. The God who filled the skies with light, His love never quits. The sun to watch over the day, His love never quits. Moon and stars as guardians of the night, His love never quits. ” (Message Version)

Hope Gathers

Cupping Mercy

Refreshment

Colors and Intricacy

Working Her Magic

Pearls Suspended

In Worship

Sparkling Evergreen

Peaceful Surrender

Dancing