I’m so used to shoot quick pics of everything. I snap a picture and before you know it, it’s on Facebook. I’ve allowed it to be my journal substitute.
The other day visiting in Alabama we were walking down to the beach in Daphne, AL and I realized I left my phone in the car. I was missing a photo opportunity!
Then, I realized, too much of my life is lived by the quick pic. I can’t describe anything anymore. So, the photos I can’t take… or don’t take… miss the story of my life.
But that day I decided not to run back to the car and get my phone. I decided instead to enjoy the walk and have my breath taken away by the huge, stately oaks. They stood as silent witnesses to decades and decades of history. Probably centuries. I thought about those massive beauties, with the moss hanging off the branches, and what they’ve witnessed. The Civil War. The plantation life. The beach life. The hurricanes. It was something to think about.
On a morning holding my grandson I also decided to refrain from trying to take yet another picture. He’s just so cute, but the other 501 pictures captured that as well. So I took in that moment to take in the joy of our life together for a few moments. His big brown eyes as he leaned in. His little hands grabbing my beard. His amazement at the faces I was making… my joy and laughter as he tried to mimic what I was doing…
There are moments the camera can just stay put away. I let those moments get missed. I lack the ability to describe them. If it’s not a picture, did it happen? Of course it did… I just need to take it in and live that moment.
So… I will refrain from clipping a picture to show here of those beautiful Alabama oak trees, or yet another picture of my adorable grandson.
I need to live in those quiet moments and then learn to capture them another way.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 