Wednesday 18 March 2009
Lent In Focus
Mrs4444 over at Half-Past Kissing Time issued an inviation (or laid down a challenge, depending on your point of view) to pay attention this Lent and take a photo of something that represents the themes of the season-- sacrifice, repentence, rebirth. Being in Scotland and working on a PhD feels, a lot of times, like a life of sacrifice (even though I am very glad to be living it!)... and I get discouraged and down easily and often. Stress does that to me. Lent, then, is a good time for me to really pay attention to rebirth, and to the notice all the reminders of new life all around me. It's the end of the long, dark, cold winter days and the beginning of sun and warmth. This time really is full of reminders of the resurrection, and the promise of our resurrection. I don't mind saying that right now, I need all the encouragement and reminders I can get. I haven't been able to take many photos yet of these kinds of things here in Aberdeen, but I do have some favourites from years past, which are always good for my soul. Here are a few (I thought about putting a few words about why I chose these photos, but I decided to just leave them. If you can't figure out why, or you want to know more, please do ask.)...
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3 comments:
Thanks, Amy. These are fantastic. I especially love the second one (wow-it says so much!) and the last three (but especially the park. So beautiful and artistic. I would love to hear more about the group photos and what they mean to you...
Those are some lovely shots. Great representations!
thanks, y'all. i love taking photos, and sometimes i get lucky and they actually come out nice. =)
the first group shot is from an emmaus walk (spiritual renewal retreat) that i worked on in dublin. we were the background team, who did the dishes, put out the goodies, cleaned up... basically did all the grunt work with none of the glory. it is four days of hard work and sacrifice on our part so that the participants can have four days of uninterrupted time with God. completely worth it-- and it was a time of rebirth for me, meeting friends old and new, having four days of hard manual work constantly upheld by worship and prayer. it was great.
the second one comes from my time spent in palestine over easter 2005. some of the other shots come from that time, as well-- it was a real eye-opener for me, as i realised how western christians seem to have forgotten our palestinian christian brothers and sisters. there is a lot of repentence on our part and rebirth in that part of the world needed... but this photo was taken the day my friend took me to hebron. it was a friday, so everything was closed (being the muslim day of rest). we happened to run into the three boys, who offered to show us around their city. at first we thought they were just after money, but they kept at us til we agreed. turned out, they just wanted to show us around and get to talk to someone about what life is like for them in a west bank city split down the middle with jewish settlers. the boy in the black shirt took us to his home, where his mother and sister shared tea and fruit with us, and visited with us-- an american christian, a palenstinian christian, and an american-palestinian christian. in an all-muslim house. it was amazing. it was a time of reconciliation (albeit in miniture) and of renewal for me, at least. it was amazing. that was the trip of a lifetime for me, and i was born again in many senses because of it.
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