Photos are life-giving for me. I remember a first camera that I owned, it looked something like this:

I think we also had cameras that had multiple layers of flash bulbs that acted as a tower of sorts. It was the norm, and I loved it. The sound of the click while taking a picture, the winding of the film and the excitement of wondering what the images would look like was a simple thrill. Fast forward a few years and cameras evolved yes, but the act of entering a mall to a camera store did not. In high school I remember going to Blacks or Japan Camera and others with the roll of film in hand. It was painful to wait for up to a week. If I paid more, maybe 3-5 days. But it was the norm, and I still loved it. I couldn’t wait to open the envelope to see if what I envisioned while I took the photos actually turned out. The sheer disappointment often hit me before I even left the mall. I would sit on a bench eagerly flipping through the 24 images (sometimes I just paid for doubles ahead of time in case a few turned out to pass on). Only one photo worked out. All that time, all that hope and one image. Yet, my endless boxes, bins and albums bursting with photos are precious memories of then and now even if it was often a few photos not overexposed.

I have friends that are outstanding photographers. One of which took our wedding photos that I just adore. His keen eye allowed for an album I will always treasure. He captured images that draw me back instantly to that moment in time. His wife (a dear friend) took pictures of my first-born baby down by the lake on a foggy morning that sparked in me a renewed love for photography. I am not a pro whatsoever, I just have a passion for this creative outlet. Both of my friends just mentioned, are now professors sharing their love, passion and gifts with eager college students. I am confident the students will be trained exquisitely! I am thankful for those in my life that have gifted me with photographs to treasure.

Pictures allow us to see the then and now moments. For me this provides a means of refection. 

Now we are in an age of immediate photos. Everything seems to be like instant coffee, just add water and it appears. When it doesn’t patience is tested immediately. Those moments waiting for photos taught me to just simply wait, keep going with the present day and know that in due time what we hope for will arrive, in some manner or another. The family photo from 2009 below appeared in an email from Shutterfly. Luring me into the ‘then’ moments. I rarely resist. I love to look back and see how our family has changed. A captured image of a moment with a much younger and very busy family. We are still busy in ways (well not necessarily during lockdown, we are in our second official one here in Ontario). It’s a different kind of day, but the time to reflect on the then and now is really important. It’s a time for gratitude, counting blessings with a thankful heart and continuing to hope for what will arrive.

In Luke 2:20 we are told, “The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Through pictures Christmas is always a time of looking back at earlier times. I ask myself, am I returning to these moments as the shepherds did, glorifying and praising God for things I have seen? Sometimes I look back at moments and want to return, acting almost ungrateful for the present moment. After reading this verse and reflecting it moved my heart toward a recounting of blessings. It’s easy to get tangled in a web of forgetfulness instead of being a fragrant bouquet of glorifying, praising with thankfulness for what he has done, what he is doing and what he will do. Sometimes I busy myself with the little moments that add up to memory loss. Lord, help me to remember this season today along with rejoicing in the then moments.

 

Maybe today watching Christmas with The Chosen and The Shepherd based on Luke 2 is one way to reflect and praise God for all the things we have seen and heard. This has helped me immensely! May this time be reflective and full of blessings for you.