Seeing Creation

Photography encourages me to slow down and really see the natural world around me. It is tempting to hike quickly down the trail, hoping to find that image that jumps out at you, when all along, there have been great shots all around you.

One frustration that photographers often have when doing this is that you may see a wonderful scene in front of you, but you cannot easily capture it with the camera. Cameras have severe limitations in seeing the world compared to what our eyes can see. When conditions include bright light and dark shadows, we often see much more than the limited range of the camera. This was definitely true when Chuck and I went to the redwoods a couple of weeks ago. It was all sunshine, which in dense woods like these, that means bright spots of light and lots of dark shadows. I was on the trail waiting for Chuck to shoot some rhododendrons in bloom and as I paused, I noticed the beautiful light on the ferns under the big trees in front of me. No digital or film camera can capture what our eyes can see in such conditions, however, the photo at the top of this blog does show something close.

How is that possible? With something called HDR or high dynamic range photography. By taking more than one exposure that would cover the range of brightness, I could bring those exposures into an HDR software program to combine the images, revealing what was really there rather than a restricted image based on what the camera could capture. Here is an example of what the unaided camera is restricted to.

Chuck and I were talking about that and how that seems similar to what we see of the world compared to what God sees. We are like the restricted camera, incapable at times of seeing the wonder of an ecosystem (we just don’t have the capability God has of seeing all of its connections and beauty in that), incapable at times of seeing the full possibilities of others (God’s love means He sees beyond their limitations and lets their possibilities bathe in his grace), and so on. HDR and regular photography may give us a metaphor for what is possible to be seen vs. what we usually see.

In Numbers 22:21-35, Balaam beats his donkey and discovers his vision is more limited than the donkey’s. He thinks the donkey is being obstinate, yet the donkey is actually seeing a messenger from the Lord that Balaam is incapable of seeing. Balaam has a restricted vision, while the donkey’s is enhanced HDR!

In 1 Kings 19- 9-18, Elijah hides out because he is afraid. He is convinced he is the only faithful one left and that he will be killed if he returns home. He has restricted vision. God lets Elijah know that a bigger vision would show that thousands of others are faithful. Elijah is not aware because of his limited capability of seeing, while God lets him know more is available.

Of course, we can never see everything that God can see. There is a level of perception and vision that we cannot even imagine. However, we can ask God at times to open our eyes, to give us HDR vision to better see the world He has created. If we think what we see is all there is to see, we will be like the limited view of the camera, and miss a lot of possibilities in the world around us.

That takes us back to the first thought — that sometimes the most beautiful things are around us, we just need to slow down and truly open our eyes. Sometimes we need to ask God for HDR possibilities of seeing!

– Rob

Unless you have visited the redwood groves on the California coast it is hard to imagine just how big the trees there are.  The only way to show their size photographically is to place a person or some other well-known object (like a car) next to one of the trees.  These giant trees can be as tall as a 35 story building.  In the Humboldt Redwoods State Park I walked around a tree at its base and it took me 23 steps to complete the journey, and this tree was not even the biggest one.  Not only do redwood trees grow to great heights, they can live for very long periods of time as well.  Some specimens are estimated to be over two thousand years old. 

To be a tree that grows so big and tall—one that lives so long—you might expect that the redwood trees have deep roots.  That, however, is not the case.  The redwood tree’s roots typically grow outward rather than downward.  This would seem to be a recipe for disaster but redwood trees have another characteristic—they tend to connect their roots to other redwood trees nearby.  By joining together they find strength to endure fierce storms century after century.

I cannot help but believe that there is a spiritual lesson here for us.  You typically hear people say we need to have deep roots in our faith, and there is certainly truth to this.  The redwood trees, however, remind us that we also need to be connected to others to find strength and stability for the storms of life.  I know from my own experience that without a community of faith that includes family, friends and my church that I’d never make it. 

The author of the Book of Hebrews said “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (10:25)  Staying connected with other believers is a must for anyone seeking to live the Christian life.  We were not intended to make our journey alone.  What life throws at us is too much to tackle alone. We truly do need one another—just like the redwoods.

–Chuck

(The top image was taken at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, while the bottom image was taken at a city park in Arcata, California.)

While I was in northern California last week I was reminded that many species of plants (and animals) can only thrive where the conditions are just right.  The majestic redwoods do well on the coast of California for a reason.  Further east on the White Mountains, the ancient bristlecone pine forests exists because the conditions are just right for them to grow there.  The redwoods could not grow where the bristlecone pine trees are found and those trees would not last long in the environment where the redwoods thrive.  Rob and I also visited a bog area that is the home of the cobra pitcher plant.  You will not find this unique plant in many places because like the redwood and pine trees, it requires a certain type soil and environment to survive and prosper.  It is just a fact of nature that various species require certain conditions in order to do well.

What is true in the natural world is also true in the spiritual realm.  There are conditions that are necessary in order to thrive spiritually.  Without these conditions we will not do well at all.  Our chances of growing without the right environment are about as good as a bristlecone pine tree making it on the coast of California.  What are the ideal conditions for spiritual prosperity?  Obviously, there are many.  Here are a couple of things that come to my mind.  First, we thrive spiritually when we focus on the kingdom of God.  Jesus placed great emphasis on the kingdom of God and taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  He also said “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33)   Many of us fail to grow spiritually because our lives tend to focus first and foremost on ourselves.  We want our kingdom to come and our will to be done.  We won’t get far spiritually that way. 

Second, we will also have a better chance of thriving spiritually if we will seek to incorporate spiritual disciplines into our lives.  These are time-tested practices that put us in a position to grow.  Some of the classic disciplines are prayer, the study of scripture, fasting, solitude, silence, meditation, service, worship and confession.  Where these practices are found in the soil of one’s life there is far more likelihood of flourishing than if these disciplines are absent or neglected.

As humans created in the image of God we have the freedom to choose our spiritual environment.  If we find ourselves in a place where we are not growing we can change that.  This is good news!  It offers hope for everyone.  We can all thrive if we just make the effort to place ourselves in the environment God has deemed best for us.

–Chuck 

(The redwood trees and pitcher plant shown above were photographed last week.  The ancient bristlecone pine tree image was taken a couple of years ago.)

Rob and I are photographing together this week in northern California. We have been concentrating on the magnificent redwood groves found in the area. Walking amongst these incredibly large trees has a way of making you feel quite small. I actually feel a sense of reverence in the presence of these giant specimens. Rob and I have paused many times just to express our sense of wonder and awe at the beauty of God’s Creation found here. In the forest here I, too, feel “hints of gladness.” The giant trees lift my spirits and bring me joy. They point me to the One who created this world. They also remind me of how trees play a vital role in the Scriptures from beginning to end. Mary Oliver talks about how she can almost say the trees save her and I understand what she means. They bring peace in a troubled world. But the Bible connects trees and salvation even more closely when it points us to the Cross upon which Jesus died for the sins of the world. As much as I am humbled and made to feel small by the redwoods of California, the Cross humbles me even more. It is there, more than anywhere else, I see God’s greatness and my smallness. It is there, more than anywhere else, I see the love of God.

–Chuck

 (Both of the images above were taken at Humboldt Redwoods State Park yesterday.)

While in the redwood groves yesterday I thought about a poem I recently came across in Mary Oliver’s book, Thirst. It is called “When I Am Among Trees.” She writes: “When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often. Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, ‘Stay awhile.’ The light flows from their branches. And they call again, ‘It’s simple,’ they say, ‘and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.’”

The foundational text for discussing Creation is, of course, Genesis 1-2.  This is where we find the biblical accounts of Creation.  We learn here how God made the light, the skies, the land, the sun and moon, the plants and animals.  We also learn in these accounts how God made humans in His image.  Genesis 1:27 says “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”  Furthermore, we read in the biblical accounts of Creation that God said “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him.”  (2:18)  Before Genesis 2 concludes reference is made to  how “a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife and they will become one flesh.” (v. 24)

In this blog I don’t talk very often about the human element of Creation but I will make an exception today.  In fact, I have good reason to.  Today is my thirtieth wedding anniversary.  On June 12, 1981 I had the privilege of taking Bonita Bonta as my “lawfully wedded wife.”  I cannot thank God enough for allowing our paths to cross in Louisville, Kentucky, and for the love that we have shared all these years.  I realize that not everyone chooses to marry and that is quite o.k. but for me personally God knew that it was “not good for Chuck to be alone.”

Bonita is an incredible woman.  She is beautiful, gifted, compassionate and, like myself, has a great love for both God and His Creation.   I could never have asked for a more supportive wife.  She has been my “helper” in so many ways.  She is an incredible “pastor’s wife” and has served every bit as much as a minister as I have at all of the churches where I have been pastor.  She is also very supportive of my passion for photography.  Even when it’s our 30^th anniversary she doesn’t complain I’m flying out tonight to photograph with Rob in northern California.  I am so richly blessed to have a wife who loves me like she does and who brings me so much joy.

So today I give thanks that when God created the world He came up with the idea of marriage and that later on down the road He made a woman down in Florida that I would eventually meet here in Kentucky and take for my wife.  In this woman it is not hard to see the image of God at all.  She is a constant reminder to me of the goodness of Creation!

–Chuck

(The image of Bonita was taken in Hawaii this past April where we celebrated our 30^th anniversary early.  The bottom image is an abstract I took with Rob a couple of years ago of redwood trees in Muir Woods National Monument near San Francisco.)