Working Woes

Tip: consider lines in your photos. Do edges in your subject match up to the edges of the photograph? How do other lines make your image look?

We all say it at some point: "Ugh, I have to go to work again." It seems nearly expected in our society that when we go into the working world, we will probably hate what we do and only do it for the money. I've even heard it said that if we lived in a perfect world, we wouldn't have to work at all (to be honest, I've been guilty of thinking so in the past as well). But here is something to consider: mankind had work to do before sin entered into the world. 

Genesis 2:15 says, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." and later in verse 19, "Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name." 

These events and intentions for mankind came prior to the temptation and fall of Adam. What does this mean? It means that work itself is not a result of sin. It is the difficulty of work that is the result of sin, as shown in Genesis 3:17a-19: 

"cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.”

How then ought we to react to work? Know that work was instituted by God, and it is our duty as we live before Him to carry out the work we have, however difficult, with an attitude of worship towards our Creator.

Spiritual DIY'ers

Tip: Carefully position your subjects, especially in silhouettes. In retrospect, I should have paid closer attention to her hands, having her pull them closer to herself so that they didn't get lost in the trees.

"Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him." (Genesis 32:24-25)

Whether we are consciously aware of it or not, the majority of the time we tend to go through life relying upon our own power and ability to carry us through. We think about all the things that we have to do; the money we must earn to make our livelihood, the daily tasks we must accomplish, the people we have to put up with, etc. If you go through Genesis and read prior accounts in the life of Jacob, you can see that there have been many occasions where he has done the same. Even here, where he wrestles with this mysterious man all night through, demanding a blessing, it appears to be him relying on brute force to get what he is after.

We can see all throughout the life of Jacob that he is a man of God, but there are so often times when he lapses and begins to rely on his own strength or cunning to get him by. In a way, we can be encouraged by this- the Bible paints a realistic picture of God's people, we don't have to live up to super-humans; they have strengths and weaknesses just like we do. It is the same back then as it is now: God enables His people and is the source of their strength, yet when we feel strong, we tend to forget that we aren't getting by with our own power. 

God gave Jacob a new weakness, and sometimes He does the same to us. It's difficult not to grow bitter as we face our difficulties and weaknesses, but we must pray God helps us cope and remember that He has put us in whatever circumstance in order to remind us that we are to rely on HIS power, not our own. 

Sometimes The Cornfield Dies

I was incredibly disappointed to be told that there would be no corn maze this year. Every October it is a local activity that I look forward to with great enthusiasm. There is nothing quite like the smell of the hay and a slight breeze blowing through the impenetrable walls of corn as you stumble through dark pathways at night with your friends for a few hours. Though it isn't the best photo, I still look at that shot above with fond memories of last fall.

From what I was told, the city planted a whole field, but what little of it grew ended up dying because the conditions just weren't right for it this season. I had to pause after receiving that information; the story is all too familiar...

"He [Jesus] told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” - Matthew 13:3-9

This parable is about evangelism- telling others about the person and work of Christ. Somehow we tend to get the idea that we do not succeed in our evangelism unless the person says a prayer and is converted. The thing is, causing people to get saved isn't fully on our shoulders- yes, we should tell others about Christ; we are His chosen means of spreading the word (Mark 16:15), however God is the one who saves (1 Corinthians 1:19). We are just in charge of "sowing the seeds", as the parable puts it; the results of our efforts are up to God.

Don't get discouraged if people don't believe in God right away after a conversation with you- pray for them, befriend them, keep good conversation going, and leave the rest to God. He will save His chosen ones in His timing, whether you are around to see the end result or not. Perhaps He will use you and you will never know- it's that element of not knowing that keeps us humble.

My Rainbow Pride

Tip: Sometimes all you have is a a low quality camera on your mobile device. It's a bummer, but make the most of the situation! Good color and scene composition are the key factors in all photos.

Rainbows are gorgeous. Every time one shows up, people are often compelled to photograph it. They are a rare treat- until you log onto social media. The last few weeks in particular, the rainbow has been quite prevalent all across the news and internet. Sadly, despite it's current popularity, most people either do not know or have forgotten the meaning behind it. So, now seems like a good time for a little review, courtesy of Genesis 9:12-16:
 
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

Every time you see a rainbow- whether in the sky, on a flag, in a protest, or anywhere else- remember: it is the sign of God's covenant with us. Every time you see a rainbow, thank God that you are still alive to see it. It is only by His mercy that you have lived another day. With mercy like that, shouldn't we use the time gifted to us to learn more about our Creator and strive to make our lives signs of our thankfulness to Him?

For those of you who may not know the back-story, or who don't recall exactly how it went, this bit of history begins in Genesis 6. Verses 5-8 of this passage chronicle the events leading up to the aforementioned flood:

"The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord."

So, there is a little taste to get you going. If you do not know the full history, I suggest you go look up and read Genesis, chapters 6 through 10.