Zoom

Photography is a recently acquired hobby of mine.  I love taking pictures.  In the short time that I have plunged into my love of taking pictures, I have realized that I tend to take a lot of up close shots and I often zoom-in.  I love getting into the nitty gritty details of nature,

into the intricate features of my children's faces,

and into the hidden reflections within a water droplet.

I love to unveil the overlooked, delicacies of my mundane world in my small backyard.

I feel like I am enjoying the fullness of my life, that is until I step back I see the vast beauty in the bigger picture.  When I zoom out, the freedom to take a deep breath comes over me and I can take in the grandiose view.

Francis Chan writes in his book, Crazy Love, about God's unfathomably large scale of His enormous creation zoomed out all the way to our 350,000,000,000 galaxies and zoomed all the way in to a tiny caterpillar that has 228 separate and distinct muscles in its head (PG. 26-27).  From every minuscule detail to the immensity of the universe, God is revealed.

Have you ever gotten so wrapped up in the details that you loose sight to what really matters?  Or focused so much on the bigger picture that you forgot to stop and smell the roses?  Life is a balance.  I think we teeter-totter in the attempt to find a balance, but in the end, both perspectives bring us close to God. 

Personally, my struggle is putting down the camera.  The camera literally comes between me and what matters.  Sure, a moment is captured forever, but I did not participate in the moment; I was merely a spectator.  I think God wants to us put down the distractions or the pseudo-experiences and be a participant.  Stop looking at the pictures and be in the pictures, experiencing God zoomed in and out!

What comes between you and living?  For me, the camera, the computer, my coffee, among other things.  For others, it's a cell phone, a bad habit, an unhealthy relationship.  Let's zoom in, zoom out and plunge into the stream of life throwing off everything that hinders us (Hebrews 12:1) and participating in God's work even if it's in our backyard.

Posted in: Rebecca