Last Saturday, my husband and I took a boat trip from the harborfront in Seattle, through the Ballard Locks, and into Lake Union. What a treat! It was a beautiful afternoon, and I had my camera ready and waiting for some gorgeous shots.You know, living in the Pacific Northwest means that we have rainy mist and clouds for much of the year. Mt. Rainier, which is our premier mountain, is often invisible due to weather. But when it shows itself, the sight is spectacular!
Notice the difference between the photo at the top and the photo on the right. What is missing? You can barely see the outline of Mt. Rainier on the right. In fact, if you didn’t know it was there, you might not even notice the “smudge” that is a mountain.So what’s up with that? Where did the mountain go?
It’s something I’m learning about my camera. If I hold the lens in a certain way, I can capture the lighting just right, and the photo will be amazing. If I hold the lens less carefully, the view is completely different, pedestrian, and even boring.
Weird.
And, yet, it is a fabulous analogy of how we view our own lives.
Seeing God’s Goodness in My Experience
When I look at my current circumstances, if I hold the lens of my heart just right, I can see God’s fingerprints, His goodness shaping my experience.
If I hold the lens of my heart less carefully, the view is completely different. In fact, it might seem as though God was nowhere in sight.
I had a similar experience two weeks ago.
We went to Gasworks Park in Seattle, to celebrate my son’s birthday. I had hoped to get some spectacular sunset shots on this gorgeous evening, but my first attempts were less than satisfactory.
As I kept fiddling with my camera, trying different angles to catch the light, I found that if I was very careful, with my camera turned to the right exposure, I could actually capture something breathtaking.
This is what keeps coming to my heart about the reality of life on this planet. It is like the analogy of the two photos.
From one angle:
- Difficult things happen.
- We may be discouraged, diasppointed, tired, broke.
- Life may look dull.
- Our prayers may seem to hit the ceiling and splash back into our wounded hearts.
From another angle:
- He is faithful.
- He is merciful.
- He is kind.
- He is good.
- He loves us completely and without measure.
- He is wise.
- And He is working something good for us in the midst of it all.
May He give us the grace and courage to adjust the lens of our heart to see His work in our lives.
Psalm 34:4-8
I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
and their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who trusts in Him.”