As with most weeks, this one was filled with lots of noise…. The sounds of athletes and crowds at games, and the waves crashing at the seashore, were fun. The sounds of miles of crazy traffic on highways and the non-stop noise of scattered thoughts looking for resolution were not. Which is why this may have been my favorite photo of the week. It was a picture of what Elijah experienced when he longed to hear from God:
“Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks—but the Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire—but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire… there was the soft whisper of a voice.”—1 Kings 19:11-12
Likewise, it’s easy to forget (and important to remember) that when the psalmist penned the much-loved words, “Be still and know that I Am God” (Psalm 46:10), it was in an atmosphere of a lot of noise.
Stillness is beautiful. Stillness is vital to the soul. But like Elijah and the psalmist, we often have to fight through all the noise to get there.
Even when you (me) want to capture all the noise, excitement, atmosphere and action of a game, the real beauty is looking at the stillness of the photos afterwards. In the screaming silence, you see details and facial expressions of hurt, frustration, determination and joy that simply zipped by in the moment. You see people. You notice what’s important.
It's not unlike this photo, too, when the roaring Atlantic tide comes to a screeching, mirror-like halt in the marshland. Because when you stop and look carefully, you notice not just a reflection but one of heaven on earth. Just as God desires it.
And so three captions of wisdom for the “favorite photo of the week,” from fellow travelers who’ve gone before…
Videos, reels and movies are fun, but… "Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”—Dorothea Lange
“Let us leave a little room for reflection in our lives; room too, for silence. Let us look within ourselves and see whether there is some delightful hidden place inside where we can be free of noise and argument. Let us hear the Word of God in stillness and perhaps we will then come to understand it.”—Saint Augustine
“Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is.”
—Amy Carmichael
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