Life is full of many uncertainties but one thing is always certain; we will have to deal with the deaths of people we love. I have had my fair share of death lately. I have had three special people in my life die in the last three months. Today we had the memorial service for my uncle. Family funerals are always a little exhausting for Dwayne and me. He usually conducts the service and I usually put together a picture presentation of the person’s life. Working with the pictures of someone’s life is very revealing. First, pictures remind you of how someone was. We get so use to seeing a person for how they are today; we forget what they were like. I can see this with my own mother’s pictures. It amazes me that I have forgotten what my 30 year old mother looked like; I can sit and look at her picture for a long time trying to pull up the memories. Pictures also show us the journey of life. They show the seasons we experience and the changes that occur along the way. They can show priorities: the people, the hobbies, the places that were important to them. They stir emotions. They can make you laugh, question, and cry. They can comfort us, make us angry, and confuse us. Pictures are what we leave behind to the generations following us to let them experience a glimpse of who we were. When I see pictures of my grandparents who were poor and raising seven children, I have a new respect of the hard life they led.
The pictures of my uncle were revealing to his extended family. I saw him the way he was before I was born and how he was in my memories. I saw the people that were important to him and the places that were his normal hang outs. I saw him do things like karaoke, that I would have never guessed he would ever do. They showed him wear things I never had dreamed he would wear, like shorts and a bathing suit. They showed us how important his friends were to him and he traveled to many places with those friends. Some pictures made us laugh. Some pictures made us wonder.
When we know someone, we usually know them in one role of life. We know them as a friend, a brother, a sister, a coworker, an uncle or aunt, a child, or a spouse. We see people differently by what role we know them. It is when you get to see the view points from different perspectives that you really know someone.
God sees us from all view points. There is no hidden life from God. He doesn’t see us in snapshots: He sees our life in video. However, the pictures we leave those who know us is only complete when all the parts of our life come together. For the whole picture to reflect Jesus, each part must reflect Jesus.
What pictures of life are you creating? Do they reflect Jesus? Does every part; every role of your life show who you are in Christ? If someone who doesn’t know you now, could only know you by the pictures of your life and the testimonies of others, what would they learn about you? Is it the legacy you want to leave behind?
The pictures of my uncle were revealing to his extended family. I saw him the way he was before I was born and how he was in my memories. I saw the people that were important to him and the places that were his normal hang outs. I saw him do things like karaoke, that I would have never guessed he would ever do. They showed him wear things I never had dreamed he would wear, like shorts and a bathing suit. They showed us how important his friends were to him and he traveled to many places with those friends. Some pictures made us laugh. Some pictures made us wonder.
When we know someone, we usually know them in one role of life. We know them as a friend, a brother, a sister, a coworker, an uncle or aunt, a child, or a spouse. We see people differently by what role we know them. It is when you get to see the view points from different perspectives that you really know someone.
God sees us from all view points. There is no hidden life from God. He doesn’t see us in snapshots: He sees our life in video. However, the pictures we leave those who know us is only complete when all the parts of our life come together. For the whole picture to reflect Jesus, each part must reflect Jesus.
What pictures of life are you creating? Do they reflect Jesus? Does every part; every role of your life show who you are in Christ? If someone who doesn’t know you now, could only know you by the pictures of your life and the testimonies of others, what would they learn about you? Is it the legacy you want to leave behind?
Words of Paul as he writes to the Corinthians: We’re writing plain, unembellished truth, hoping that you’ll now see the whole picture as well as you’ve seen some of the details. We want you to be as proud of us as we are of you when we stand together before our Master Jesus.
2 Corinthians 1:14
3 comments:
WOW, did that hit home or what. I've been struggling a little lately with my photography, but when I go back and look at some of pictures I took at a wedding or at an engagement shoot and capture that look they took into each others eyes I think it's all worth it. I want to capture those memories for people. Capture the moments and not just the poses. This is inspiring to me. Makes you think about what we digitally put on our blogs and our facebooks...would this be something we would want our kids to look up to and reflect. Is our life a walk with God. And as Dwayne always says, "If you got arrested for being a Christian would they have enough evidence to convict you????"
Since I am a big scrapbooker I have often wondered if someone came in and the only way they had to get to know me was look at my scrap books what would they think?? What kind of person would they see?
Steph...I am a big scrapbooker too....because I love to tell the story of my families life with the pictures we have captured! I wonder the same thing. I have also let go of trying to get the "perfect" shot...(like of our 4 kids)...cuz our life is not perfect and that is part of the story!
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