This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world: He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

- Maltbie D. Babcock

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Waving at the chariots as they go by...

In the movie "Chariots of Fire," the character Eric Liddell makes this memorable statement: "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure."  Yesterday afternoon, as I was pursuing one of my favourite pastimes, strolling along a local trail, camera at the ready, the thought occurred to me - God made me slow.  This is a fact that has sometimes been the source of considerable frustration for me, my family, friends, and occasionally coworkers.  It is also, I am coming to see, a gift.  I do tend to move slowly through this world, but as I do, my eyes are wide open.  I find that I tend to see and appreciate details that those moving at a faster clip may tend to overlook.  When I first started taking photographs, it was just as a way of chronicling life, and of committing to memory the things that I was seeing and experiencing.  As I have gotten older, and photography has become a passion, I see that it has in fact also become an act of worship for me.  When I notice, and try to capture with my camera, the beauty and incredible detail in the created world, I am also saying, "Father, I see it - and I acknowledge that it comes from you."  I also feel a desire to share these images with others, in the hope that they will have a renewed appreciation for these small wonders and for their Creator.  Those that move faster may accomplish much more in a day, but sometimes they miss these rumours of glory as they rush on by.

Fast people win races.  They also complete lists, and impress those of us who are not similarly calibrated.  I may have to push myself every day to accomplish the practical necessities of life, but I am also learning to make peace with, and even appreciate, the way that I have been made.  I accept the fact that I am more likely to be the one taking pictures at the finish line.  And that gives Him pleasure too.