My Plan was the Walk, God's Plan was the Watermelon

I'm currently enrolled in my first college photography class (with 4 other mom friends of mine and a bunch of college kids!) and our assignment for this week was to take a "Series" of pictures. I pondered all the different ways I could go about accomplishing this broad assignment before settling on a church event that was to happen over the weekend. The church our family attends just had their last service at their rented, strip mall facility and was scheduled to walk, as a congregation, the four miles from the old facility to the new.

It was a bright, sunny Sunday and I was sure that I could get some neat shots. I was right. I captured the picture of the painting in the window of the old facility that reads "WE'RE MOVING!" and shows a truck towing a church. I got pictures of the stream of young and old leaving the parking lot and heading down the sidewalk in brightly colored patches of joy. I got shots of a little boy on his dad's shoulders, a shot of a pony-tailed girl with her arm wrapped around the neck of her Labra-doodle, a shot of friends arm in arm on their way to their new church home. I really did, as I had planned, get some good options for my assignment.

Hours and hundreds of pictures later, as we stood in front of the new church having finished our walk, toured the new facility, and reveled in all the Lord was accomplishing I decided it was time to put my camera away. As I turned to get my camera bag a snip of red hair caught my attention...

Today I marvel once again at the fact that God's plans are always so much better than my own plans. My plan had been to get a series of pictures of a momentous day in the life of our church, a series of pictures of our own "Grand Exodus" and subsequent entry to "the Promised Land" and indeed, for the most part my plan worked out (this time) but God's plan was for me to capture an even better series of pictures which included one of His littlest children "bearing fruit."

When God captivated me with "Claire" He also reminded me how brightly He can radiate in the youngest of children and how wonder often comes in small packages and how the best "fruits of our labor" come not only in buildings and accomplishments but in lives that are nurtured.

Oh mommies, I pray for you and I that the Lord would open our spirit eyes that we would not miss "the watermelons of life." That God would alert us to those moments when His irresistible beauty shows up in unexpected places. That God would help us remember that He greatly values our role as mothers and that His light shines most brightly in the lives of the little ones...and that we will always be His little ones!

"Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40:5

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Blessings,
Tracy Klehn

Taking Pictures...Helping Them "See"

I LOVE taking pictures. I am the crazy mom on the sideline of the football field that has her zoom lens attached to her camera and has her finger perpetually pushed down on the "sports mode"setting button so as not to miss a single moment of play. My average number of photos per game looms somewhere around 300 (yes I am serious). It doesn't have to be a football game though...if my daughter's cheer leading squad is performing I take just as many pictures, or if there is a pep rally at school, or if the orchestra is playing at the mall...you get the idea. By the way...not all 300 of these pictures are of the "fruit of my womb" (then we'd have a real problem and I would definitely need some sort of an intervention). I take pictures of all the kids...each and every one performing or playing. Close ups, action shots, moments between father and son on the field or between a coach and a player or even those priceless moments between friends. I capture them, I edit them, I upload them and I share them. Parents often thank me for the time and energy I put into taking pictures of the kids and some even ask me why I do it especially since I'm not getting paid. I've thought about this often and the best answer I can come up with is that I want these kids to know that "they are seen." I want each of these kids to know that someone not only notices them but that someone cares about them, is proud of them and loves them. I don't want them to ever feel "missed," "forgotten" or "invisible."

As I was spending some time in the Bible this week I came upon the story of Hagar and Sarai (found in Genesis 16:1-16) and in it I was reminded of the impact that feeling "seen" has on a person. If you are familiar with the story you'll recall that Hagar, Sarai's maidservant becomes pregnant with Abraham's child (Sarai's husband) which causes tension (to say the least) to arise between the women and for Sarai to begin to mistreat Hagar. This sends Hagar fleeing to the desert where Hagar is met by an "angel of the Lord." This supernatural encounter causes Hagar to realize that she has never been "missed" by God. God not only "saw" her but pursued her. This realization was so wondrous to Hagar that it reads "She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: 'You are the God who sees me,' for she said, 'I have now seen the One who sees me.' (Genesis 16:13) In Hebrew, El Roi is the name Hagar spoke of God. It translates as "the God who sees."

I take a lot of pictures...some may say too many...but one of my hopes in capturing all these moments is that these kids might someday know that it wasn't only one crazy mom on the sideline of the football field that "saw" them but it is the God of the Universe who not only "sees" them but relentlessly pursues them with His love.

Here is a shot I took at one of the last games. In it my son and one of his dearest friends (along with every member of both teams and the coaching staff) and teammates have gathered in the middle of the football field following a close game to prayerfully give thanks to El Roi-The God Who Sees.

Let's Pray...
El Roi, we thank you that you never miss a thing and that you certainly never miss us. Thank you for being a God that pursues us relentless with love, grace, truth and forgiveness. Please help me communicate this aspect of your character to my own children and to all of the children of God that you place in my path. In Jesus' Name, Amen.