Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. We got up in the darkness to head to Clingmans Dome for sunrise. As with all sunrises, you never know what you will see. We got there early and there was some color in the skies but not what I had hoped to see. We stayed until darkness changed to daylight and then headed down the mountain. It was just a short way down when the sun shining through the trees caught my eyes. You see, I have learned that sometimes the images we had hoped to capture are not always the ones we get. If we fixate on the disappointment of not getting what we had hoped and worked for we can miss the beauty that is there. This day that lesson paid off and this was the image that I got.
In these days of pandemic, what we wanted, what we were looking, for was certainly not what we got. So we must ask ourselves, what have we learned? This can be a time for us to ask God to show his ways and be willing to see what he wants to show us even if it is not what we expected. We have the opportunity to leave old paths behind and find in this new day new paths of God’s truth. Prayer Great Teacher We humbly ask you to take these days and teach us new ways to love and serve you. Amen
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We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. In the story of Peter and Cornelius in Acts we are told of how Peter told his story to a group of people different from himself. Cornelius was a Roman Centurion who had sent for Peter at the bidding of a messenger from God. When Peter arrived he found people eager and waiting to hear his story. He didn’t give a three point sermon or a detailed theology of Christ. He told them what he had witnessed as he walked with Christ and his resurrection. He simply told the story of his experience with Christ.
This photograph of a tree is part of my story. Even though I had driven past this tree for many years, I still remember the cold winter day when I first noticed its beauty. The tree isn’t in a park or a special place where people go to specifically to see the wonders of nature. It is just in a field along a heavily traveled road. I was struck by the beauty of the bare branches, their graceful lines and intricate patterns. This seeing, this noticing of the beauty of things all around me, was the beginning of my story of the impact of photography on my relationship with God. For a long time I just enjoyed the process of taking images and learning about my camera. I would share a few images with my family and friends. After a time, I developed a desire to do something with all the images and the stories that went with them. As a result I began this blog as a way to tell my story of how God has used photography to lead me to a deeper understanding of him. We all have stories. Those of us who are Christian have a story of how we witness God in our lives. It won’t be like Peter’s story; indeed it won’t be like anyone else’s story. But like Peter we are called to tell our story in whatever way God has given us. For me, right now, it with my camera and this blog. My blog is just one of many blogs on the Internet. It isn’t famous or spectacular and only has a handful of regular viewers, but still I know that it has impacted others. I encourage you to share your story in whatever way God has given you. There is someone who needs to hear the story that only you can tell. Prayer Lord God, Creator of Stories Thank you for the stories of you that we find in your Word and your world. Give us courage to share our stories so that others may learn of you. Our world so desperately needs to hear your story now. Amen For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. This morning I was able to walk at the dam again for the first time in several weeks. It was one of those beautiful spring mornings with clear, blue skies filled with white, fluffy clouds. The leaves on the big tree are mostly out now and the daises encircle it in full bloom. The day was one of hope, a reminder of God’s new creation that he is making in each of us who follow him.
The past months have been difficult for my family as we have watched my mother enter hospice care after a long slow decline in her health over the past several years. With each trip to help take care of her, each hard thing or decision, I had friends who I could count on to pray for me. They have supported me with emails, texts, cards, and even meals. I will forever be grateful for their love and care. My mother’s long journey of illness is over now. Even in our sadness there is hope for we know that she is with Jesus seeing beauty we can’t even imagine. Prayer Lord Jesus Thank you for the hope we have in you and the new creation you have begun. Thank you for friends who encourage and support us during dark days. Amen |
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All the photographs in this site were taken by me. If you use or share anything from my website, please link back to this page. You are free to view and share this website by linking but I ask you not to download or redistribute anything from the site. Thanks.
Soli Deo Gloria,
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan