Snapshots
November 2006
This past summer I was vacationing with my wife. As we walked down the busy streets looking at all the little trinkets and tourist treasures, she would stop and admire one item after another. Like most men, shopping is not my favorite form of hunting. But we have a tradition that on every vacation we purchase a picture frame and a Christmas ornament commemorating our destination. We passed shop after shop, and after some time she asked if I was going to buy anything. Over the past few vacations I was cultivating an opinion that I was suddenly able to verbalize. I replied I was tired of collecting useless stuff that would only sit on the shelf. I now wanted to collect experiences. Keep in mind that at this same time I was trying to decide whether or not to fork over $120 for a "kite surfing lesson" so maybe my judgment was a little clouded! But anyway, this is why I love photography. A single photograph reminds me of the day, the moment, the smells, the experience. So my random and weird photographs may not mean anything to you, but to me they are closely tied to how I will remember the event. My photographs are tangible choices of how I choose to remember the moment. I have recorded certain events and will use those to help shape future stories.
Have you ever stopped to think why we believe what we do? Is it because of something we read in a magazine, studied in school, experienced in life, or learned from Mom and Dad? The development of our beliefs and values is a complicated process that I am neither willing nor qualified to write on. But I would like to comment on what we do with them. Speaking only from personal opinion, most of what I believe was instilled by my parents. Over time, education, society, and life have developed these further. Rarely have these later experiences greatly altered my original position. More often than not, they only confirm it. My beliefs have shifted slightly over time with an ever-expanding view of the world, and I imagine this will only continue as I age. I believe that life is a continual journey of experiences that we collect and use to mold our thoughts on everything from religion to diet soda.
I believe truth will rarely be found in the extremes. Forming an opinion from one point of view is like remembering a vacation from one photograph. It is only a snapshot of the moment. One piece of the puzzle, a small piece of a bigger picture. Some people have taken one point of view and used it to base their entire belief structure. They have one photograph. One point of view. We as Christians must not let one point of view determine our beliefs. God is the great mystery, and call me crazy, but I don't think any of us have it figured out yet. Conservatives believe that theirs is the only way, liberals believe that there are multiple ways as long as it disagrees with the conservatives, and moderates are often afraid to take a stand either way.
I pray for a day when we can all stand for something, care enough to be educated about it, and have an open discussion with those whose "snapshot" is different than our own. I pray this dialogue will be an exploration of ideas and a search for truth. I pray we can rediscover our wonder and awe of God, and be content with the experiences we collect along the way.
Chris Jones
Director of Recreational Ministries
