But what I enjoy even more is the editing. For me, having images on my camera that have not been copied to my computer is like a gift waiting to be opened. I can't wait to see what I got! Then there are times as I go through them that I realize I caught sometime I wasn't even aware of. Today was one of those days....
We spent most of the day yesterday out at the local county fair watching our two oldest boys compete in the Annual Strongman Competition. They both work for a Concrete Business and several of the guys they work with compete as well. It's a day they all look forward to...memories are made, bragging rights are earned and relationships are celebrated as they "work" together on a day off. Even the guys that aren't competing come to cheer the others on.
Soon after we got home, my youngest were napping and I was able to get right into the pictures. I was able to work in silence, alone with my thoughts and ideas. As is often the case, I find that God uses this alone time to impress on my thoughts a particular truth or Scripture. I had many pictures to go through. Lots of non family members but many of my boys...now 18 and almost 20 years old.
This competition is about strength...they both did very well. Second place in the featherweight division and third in the heavyweight.
Several verses kept running through my head and after I got the pictures uploaded for the guys to see on Facebook I decided to go look them up. You know, when you remember the principal of it but you want to see exactly how its phrased?
Psalm 144:12 "May our sons in their prime be like sturdy oak trees, Our daughters as shapely and bright as fields of wildflowers".
Psalm 127:5 " How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. He shall not be put to shame when he contends with his enemies at the gate".
I know I have beautiful children. Not just my opinion....it just is what it is! : ) My boys are manly men, they are the sturdy oak tree type. Even with my 6-foot frame I am beginning to feel like the short one. Their character is matching their stature...their roots have taken hold. Our sons and daughters ARE a blessing...all 8 make my crown sparkle. It was a reminder of what I have been given...a moment of worship, of gratitude.
The next project on the days agenda was to pick the apples from the first two of our 14 trees. Shawn had been out working with our girls while I was editing so when I walked outside, a row of buckets was already full. I happened to still have my camera in hand and snapped this.
The Strongman pictures had been a good reminder of the blessing of my children but it was the shot of the apples that was my undoing. Remember...the unexpected? Just apples...but to me it spoke more because of what I had just read in the surrounding verses of the ones I was looking up. And I have to believe that as the inspired, living Word of God...it was speaking to me.
I have alluded a bit in this blog to the difficulties of the last few months but because of some circumstances, out of our control, I have been cautious to say too much. I am now free to speak a bit more openly.
Four months ago now, in March, Shawn's employment was eliminated. No warning, with little explanation. A day that started like any other and ended like one we had never experienced before. I know it happens to many others, but it had never happened to us. The feelings we have both experience since that are enough to write a whole book about. Fear, anger, betrayal and uncertainty, gratitude, to name a few. My husband is a man of integrity, he has given his all in every employment he has had, and this was no different.
He would tell you that this experience has been the best thing spiritually that has ever happened to him... I would agree. God has drawn near, He has provided, He has been present....but He has not ended that season for us...yet. Shawn is working hard, every day, pursuing what he believes God has laid out for him but the income, or lack thereof, has not changed.
I would tell you that as a wife, there has never been anything more difficult for me than watching him work and work, by faith waiting for God to "turn the faucet on". Just to clarify, it's not difficult because I disagree that it is what God is asking him to do, but difficult to watch the struggle, knowing full well that God could change things in a moment. Shawn would consider providing for his family to be one of the greatest joys and honors he has ever experienced. Yet, even though he is working diligently and faithfully it doesn't yet have the financial reward.
The apples? Psalm 144:13-15...the verses right after the one I read earlier says, "Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; There will be no more breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the LORD."
Our abundance of apples this year is a reminder that God prospers us in many ways... its not always in dollars and cents. This is a season, something will change somewhere....He will be faithful to complete the work He has begun in us. Sometimes our blessing of temporary daily bread and a reminder of His faithfulness is right in our own back yard...it just takes a camera lens and apples to see it.
Thank you for sharing the challenge, Kathleen. And you are right, God did "plant" those verses right where you would see them. God is so very good and so faithful. I've been doing the online study with Kay Arthur going through Isaiah. She is giving 9 things that we are to remember in these days. One is that God is Sovereign over ALL things. Is 45:57, but then Ps 103...while he may present the calamity, the adversity, He takes us by the hand and walks us through it, never leaving us alone. May God continue to surprise your vision with promises He has for you. I'll be praying for you.
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