Seeing Creation

I received a book in the mail a few days ago that has brought me a good bit of excitement. It’s called Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice and was written by Christine Valters Paintner. I have long felt that there was a spiritual dimension to my photography. I have likened it in the past to a spiritual discipline. That is why I named my photography business Contemplative Images over twenty years ago. Photography has helped me see things in a way I had not prior to picking up a camera. In this new book Paintner gives a voice to my experience.

In the introduction the author writes, “Photography as a spiritual practice combines the active art of image-receiving with the contemplative nature and open-heartedness of prayer. It cultivates what I call sacred seeing or seeing with the ‘eyes of the heart’ (Ephesians 1:18). This kind of seeing is our ability to receive the world around us at a deeper level than surface realities.” Later she adds, “Photography as a spiritual practice can help us to cultivate an awakened vision so we begin to really see.”

I have often said that my nature photography is at times an act of worship. Paintner agrees with this. She says “Photography can be an act of silent worship. When we see the world with eyes of the heart, we can engage in an act of both reverence and self-expression. We can discover how the living Spirit is being revealed in the world.”

As I’ve been reading this book I have rejoiced that someone has been able to put into words what I have felt for so long. The experience has been like finding just the right greeting card that says exactly what you wanted to say to someone but could never have come up with the words yourself. If you own a camera and would be willing to explore how it might be used as a spiritual tool I highly recommend that you purchase and read this book. It is not a book that will teach you how to use a camera (my blogging partner, Rob Sheppard has written plenty of those and I urge you to buy them too), but it will help you to see the world in a different way and this will make you a better photographer in the end. Practicing the principles taught in Paintner’s book will not necessarily help you create award winning images but will instead lead to something far better–a closer connection with God and His Creation.  In the end this book is as much about the contemplative life as it is photography.   It is a book that has the potential to change your life in more ways than one.   That’s saying a lot for a book that only cost me $11.86 on Amazon.com!

–Chuck

(The pictures I’ve used today are examples of my work I’ve come to call “macro therapy.”

Today is Pentecost Sunday.  On this day Christians all around the world pause to remember how the Holy Spirit was bestowed upon the early disciples in Jerusalem shortly after Jesus had left the earth.  It is a very exciting story recorded in the second chapter of the Book of Acts.  In the first chapter of that same book the stage is set for that special day when Jesus told his followers “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (vs. 4-5)  The part of this I want to emphasize today is the disciples’ call to wait. 

For whatever reason, Jesus was not ready to bestow the Holy Spirit upon them prior to his ascension.  For that they would have to wait a few days.  It is amazing how often the Scriptures talk about waiting on God.  It is quite clear that God does not operate on the same time table we do.  We like things to happen fast but God seldom gets in a hurry.  And because God does not get in a hurry we have to wait.  Are you a good waiter?  I’m not.  I find waiting for anything I really want difficult.  I’m more of a “I want what I want and I want it now” kind of guy.  Such an attitude usually leads to a great deal of frustration.

I thought about that yesterday as I was photographing the baby robin you see in the pictures here.  Ironically, I was reading a book about John James Audubon when I saw the bird through the window sitting on a wicker chair on the porch.  The bird eventually flew into a nearby tree and I got to capture some images of it sitting there.  Not long later I noticed that the baby robin had company.  What I will assume was its mother began bringing it worms and berries to eat.  I decided I’d try to capture the feeding with my camera too.  Doing so became an exercise in patience and waiting.  I kept wanting to rush the adult robin, wishing it would hurry up and come back.  I found myself getting frustrated when it did not return as fast as I wanted it to.

The whole time I was fretting I was watching the baby bird through my telephoto lens.  I noticed that when the adult robin left the little one sometimes seemed to wait patiently for her return and at other times appeared to get agitated when she did not come back right away.   I also noticed that whether the bird waited patiently or got agitated the mother bird kept coming back with more food.  Watching all this take place in front of me got me to thinking that when we do have to wait on God for something there are two ways we may do so.  We can patiently wait on God to act, believing that His timing is best, or we can get all worked up and frustrated. 

In the end God, like the mother robin, will provide for us what we need but how we wait in the meantime is up to us.  If we know God is going to provide for us then we might as well learn to be patient and not stress out.  It does no good to get all flustered.  In fact, that only makes matters worse.  If we are smart we will simply sit back and wait, putting our trust in both God and God’s timing.

I write all of this today probably more for my own sake than yours.   There are some things going on in my life right now where I’m really struggling to be patient with God’s timing.  My natural tendency is to get anxious and upset.  While watching the baby robin yesterday I sensed God telling me “You might as well chill out.  Getting upset isn’t going to change anything.  Just be patient and I’ll come through for you when the time is right.”  That’s not what I wanted to hear but was certainly what I needed to hear.  It wouldn’t surprise me if there are others who need to hear that same message.  If so, I hope this post proves helpful.

–Chuck

Today is Mother’s Day. I kind of have mixed emotions about the whole idea of Mother’s Day. For some it is a wonderful day, for others it is a sad time. Still, I am glad for the opportunity it gives me to express my love and gratitude to my mother. I truly was blessed with a great mother and she deserves all the love and appreciation I can give her today and every other day.

The Bible repeatedly tells us to “honor your father and mother.”  This admonition even appears in the Ten Commandments.  (See Exodus 20:12)  Apparently God believes it is very important that respect be shown to one’s parents.  In the New Testament it is pointed out that this is the only Commandmant that has a promise attached to it.  The promise is “Then everything will be well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” (See Ephesians 6:2-3)  My suspicion is that this promise is not fulfilled automatically. Rather, if we have godly parents and show respect for them by listening to them and doing what they say, we will reap many benefits throughout our life.  This will likely cause us to live longer.  In other words, it pays to show one’s parents honor and respect.  That makes sense to me.

On this particular Mother’s Day I find myself wondering if there is not another mother that deserves honoring–Mother Earth.  Rob and I write regularly about the importance of caring for the earth and note that there are divine imperatives for doing so.  To many of us the Scriptures are clear on this.  Unfortunately, not all agree.  In recent days both a politician and a prominent minister have argued that we need not worry about the environment because Jesus is coming back soon.  The minister said that’s why he drove a SUV and joked that a man who drives a minivan is a mini-man.  Apparently some actually believe that since Jesus is coming back soon (something every generation since the apostle Paul has believed) there’s no need to worry about things like polluted water and air.

It would seem that Mother Earth deserves more respect than that. Even more so, the God who created the earth deserves to have His handiwork honored and respected more.  It is, after all, His gift to us.  The earth is remarkable in so many different ways.  It is designed to sustain life but if mistreated it can lead to death instead.  Perhaps one reason God calls on us to care for the earth is so that we might all live healthy lives.  And like God’s commandment to honor our parents, it would seem obeying the command to “tend the garden” produces many benefits for both us and others.  Long life and environmental care go hand in hand.  To me this is secondary to the revelation of God through Creation but obviously still very important.  If we really want to affirm the importance, or even sanctity, of life then the earth must be honored and respected.  By failing to honor the earth we fail to love both God and humankind. 

On this Mother’s Day I hope we will strive not only to honor our mothers but also Mother Earth. Showing them our love and respect is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing.  In both instances they and we reap benefits from our actions.  That sounds like a win-win situation to me.

–Chuck

(I took the images shown above on a trip with Rob to northern California a couple of years ago.)

Recently my wife and I went to see the movie about Jackie Robinson, 42. What an amazing story of courage by both Robinson and Branch Rickey! But even more, it gave a feeling for a time and its challenges that made a part of history come alive.

So what does this have to do with nature and photography and our connection to God? 42 made me think a bit. Society had treated blacks pretty poorly, and Robinson and Rickey faced some serious challenges. There were “welcome” people (white) and “unwelcome” people (blacks). Unwelcome people did not matter and could be treated badly without consequence. Obviously that has changed quite dramatically from Robinson’s day.

That definitely translates to nature. How often do you hear people talking about nature in terms of welcome and wanted, such as a furry or feathered animal, and unwelcome and unwanted, such as lizards or insects? Or people absolutely love places like the Great Smoky Mountains or Yosemite, but treat the small local marsh as an inconvenience.

We may have improved our treatment of our fellow man, but a lot of folks have not improved society’s treatment of nature when it is not furry, feathered or a national park. In fact, those “outcasts” of nature are often neglected and treated very poorly indeed.

I don’t remember Genesis saying that God created the earth and then separated the animals into good and bad according to man’s standards or natural places into wanted and unwanted. In fact, the Bible is very specific:

“God called the dry ground land, and the gathered waters He called seas. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:10.

“God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems … and every winged bird … And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:21.

“God made the wild animals according to their kinds…and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:25.

In Matthew 25:40, Jesus says, “… whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Obviously, Jesus is talking about how we treat our fellow people, but given how important God’s creation is, that statement could easily apply to how we treat the “least” of nature, especially since it is us that is passing judgement on what is “least”, not God.

Sometimes you will hear people say, “Well, I don’t understand the purpose of (some animal)” – a rather condescending statement toward God. Did God ask for our blessing on His creation? Genesis says he blessed creation before he created man.

We all struggle at times with our own importance rather than putting God first. And if we really want to put God first, I believe it starts by respecting His creation, and simply accepting that life on earth is important regardless if we “get it” or not. How can we possibly understand everything that God understands? If someone started destroying “lesser” works of art by someone like Picasso because they did not “get that work”, they would be arrested and put in jail. Is God less than Picasso with his creative work? I don’t believe that.

The first photo is from Yosemite National Park, the second a small marsh in Torrance, California. The hummingbird is from Costa Rica and the chuckwalla lizard is from Joshua Tree National Park.

– Rob

Right before leaving Pikeville a dear friend gave me a stone that had engraved upon it the words “New Beginnings.”  This time in my life truly is a period of new beginnings.  I made the move to Henderson, Kentucky, this past Tuesday. I started my new job at the First Christian Church of Henderson on Wednesday. This morning it was my privilege to share my first message with this congregation as their new pastor. Although new beginnings can be very stressful and scary, I am excited about where God has brought me and I look forward to what is ahead.

I’m glad that my new beginning has coincided with the season of spring. Spring in many ways represents a new beginning for the earth. I was reminded of that a few days ago as I took a walk in nearby John James Audubon State Park. The wildflowers bursting forth from the ground and the countless shades of green in the trees reminded me of the scripture where God declares that He makes “all things new.” (Rev. 21:5) This afternoon I saw a robin feeding its chicks. Once again there was the reminder, “I make all things new.”   Wherever I seem to glance this time of the year this is the message that presents itself to me.I see behind both my own new beginning and the signs of new beginnings in nature a God of grace and mercy. I see a God who finds delight in offering us a new beginning every single day. In the third chapter of the Book of Lamentations we find these beautiful words: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (vs. 22-23) How awesome it is that we get a chance to start over or begin again every day of our lives! It is even more awesome to know that the God of all Creation is with us on this journey and provides us with both His presence and love constantly.

When you wake up tomorrow, make sure to offer thanks to God for the gift of new beginnings. And then do it again the day after that.  And the day after that…

–Chuck

(I took the three images shown here this past week at John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, KY.)

“This is what I seek…to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” Psalm 27:4

It is not uncommon for those of us who are ministers to hear people say we should “practice what we preach.” After my trip to Cuyahoga Valley National Park last weekend I feel the need for someone to remind me to “practice what I blog.” I have often encouraged people at this site to slow down when they are outdoors and to be aware of their surroundings. I’ve even offered warnings about being so preoccupied with finding certain things that you fail to see a number of other treasures at hand. Since I write these kind of things you might expect me to practice what I preach. Why, even I expect that of myself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen.

When my friend and I entered the park on Friday I was anxious to photograph. Our first stop was Blue Hen Falls. It is only a short walk down to the falls and I was eager to get to the falls and begin photographing. I took scores of pictures right away of the waterfall, none of which were very good. The light was not ideal, nor were my creative juices flowing.  I knew I would have another chance to come back to this particular waterfall but still began the journey back to the car disappointed. I’d come to photograph a waterfall and didn’t have much to show for it.  Then, all at once, we began to see wildflowers all around us. There were beautiful white trilliums, bloodroot, lousewort, and a host of other species. I also noticed a number of fiddlehead ferns unfurling. None of these things were obvious; the forest floor was covered for the most part with leaves. But for those who truly had eyes to see there was much to enjoy and photograph. We ended up spending far more time in that area photographing flowers and ferns than we had taking pictures of Blue Hen Falls.

It bothers me that I failed to practice what I preach. I should have known better and I should have done better. What I fear even more, however, is that I may not be doing any better in the spiritual realm when it comes to seeing God. I’ve written numerous times that we must be careful about presupposing that God can only be found in certain places. Those who think God can be found only in a church or perhaps in the Bible are likely missing a lot of opportunities to experience God’s presence and glory.  I am not one of those who believe God is found only in a church or in the Bible but that does not mean that I still do not miss the divine presence on numerous occasions. I have a feeling that just as I must do a better job of being aware of my surroundings when enjoying nature or photographing, I must also do a better job of opening my eyes to the plethora of ways God is capable of Himself known.  There simply is no person, place or thing that God cannot use to reveal Himself.  I preach that sort of thing all the time. May God help me now to practice what I preach and really pay attention.  May God help you too…

–Chuck

(The trillium and fern image were taken the day written about above.  The picture of Blue Hen Falls was taken the next day.)