Holding the image

"There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment"
- Robert Frank

"And we, with unveiled faces, are being transformed, by beholding the glory of the Lord, which is transforming us, from one degree to another".
- Paul. 2 Corinthians  3:18.

One of the great splendors of life I have begun to appreciate as I've grown older is composition. As a Photographer, there's something truly satisfying bringing the right elements together to compose a moment that, hopefully, will resonate with those who see it. As a writer, there's something vital about writing words which may help someone to locate something that can, on occasion, help bring about some good.

Creation is a work of composition,
not just on the small scale that you and I can produce,
but in it's entirety.

Creation is seeking to fashion us into those marked by telling realizations regarding ourselves, and the true nature of the world we inhabit.

It's a journey marked by joy and pain, honesty and hope, and, because of the one behind this fashioning, love and mercy above all else.

This last few days has brought me into contact with a new on-line community of fellow believers, and we've already shared some fun moments together, but some of that engagement has not been easy, as it's meant seeking to address ourselves with genuine candor before the light of scripture. As with coming to church on Sunday (if it's a worthwhile church), and beginning with confession and absolution, drawing closer to each other means a level of honesty that can be cutting, but what is wonderful is how, in those very moments, the 'oil and the wine' of God's vital love given in Christ holds you and allows you to continue to share, bruised yet not discarded, and allow for a deeper conversation/connection in that splendor.

One of the things that was shared this week really speaks deeply about just how crippled sin makes us, but equally how immediate and ample the love of God in Christ is to us amidst our demolished lives (by the way, this is a website that is really worth several visits).
We sometimes, perhaps often, look at all the pieces of what is, and we find it hard to understand how they can ever fit together -
how can things which are so dark, and we all know them, ever be gone?
The answer, the completion of the composition, is when all things become defined and established in a light that is behind the present composing - a love that will bring all things to a place where that wonder is the how and the why that defines.

What's key here is that none of this is about a losing of our humanity, but a work that re-establishes and crucially establishes what is good about that.

It's not easy, moving forward, but it is something that transforms the moments into a life in which true, genuine change can take place.