One of the things I’ve been doing with this recent freed-up time is taking an online photography class. I’m having fun playing with different settings and perspectives and then editing with filters. I love how the whole mood of a picture can change from light and airy to dark and ominous with a single finger tap. I’m not so thrilled, however, at how the whole “feel” of my world can change with a single thought.
Some days, I wake up and immediately thank God for the blank-slate day stretched out in front of me. “Thank you, Lord, for this time with no one’s fingerprints on it. Thank you for the luxury of choice.” My mind starts to spin and twirl in a happy dance of wondrous possibilities. I can write. I can organize my files. Maybe hubby and I will go for a hike, or Facetime grandkids.
But that gift of choice can also lead me into the shadows. “This is bad. People are sick. Businesses are failing. We can’t go anywhere, see anyone. How long will this last?”
The shadows are scary because we have no idea what’s going to happen next. And that makes it so easy to think the worst. But I can choose to step out of the shadows and drag my negativity out into the light. I can choose to believe that God is doing things—good things—I can’t see.
Fifty years ago today, my father died. Suddenly, of a heart attack. I was seventeen. Six weeks earlier, I had broken up with my boyfriend. That morning, while our pastor sat in the living room with my grieving mother, I called that boy. His tenderness, support, and forgiveness in the midst of the darkest day of my life set the tone for a future that was brighter than I could ever have imagined. What I could not know then was that, fifty years in the future, we would be the proud and blessed matriarch and patriarch of a beautiful family that now numbers 28. I can’t help but wonder…if my father hadn’t died, would my life have taken a completely different turn?
If I put my focus on the darkness around me, I lose hope, I fail to believe that God is always creating, always sustaining, always working things out for the good of those who love him. If I choose a filter that lets in light and heightens colors, I can find joy, and hope for better tomorrows, no matter what is going on around me.
As I read this passage, my view of what is going on in our world right now floods with light and my focus on Him sharpens. I hope it brings you comfort and hope today too:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated…” Isaiah 61:1-4
Are you using the right filter today?