Embrace the Ordinary, 2018 vol. 6

Saint Josemaria Escriva said, “Either we look to find our Lord in ordinary, everyday life, or else we shall never find Him.”

Looking requires slowing down and reflecting, both of which I’m struggling to achieve this year (one reason this space has been so quiet).

I’ve hoped to use my real camera more often; it forces me to think about the composition, the settings, the image in the viewfinder. Yes, it’s different than using my phone camera and thinking about composition. For me, being intentional enough to pick up the big camera (which sits by my computer, basically in the center of action in our home, precisely so I have it within reach), is a slowing down. I have to take time to prepare to shoot, to think about being unobtrusive in daily life but still present to capture a few moments in time. . .

And yet since this little ol’ post has been sitting in drafts since October, I’ve pulled out my “real” camera only a handful of times, and only for special events or product photos. Or rocket launch photos, which aren’t your average, everyday sort of photos, either.

What gives??

Too busy. Too much mind-numbing scrolling. Too many hours on the phone trying to work out medical appointments. Too many math lessons (not kidding).

And yet somewhere God is in the midst of all this, too. Either I find Him in these hours and to-dos, or I’ll never find Him, and I’ll never find peace, either.

Isn’t that what our souls crave, especially during this time of year?

So I don’t have a solid answer, yet. I do intend to actually use my camera more often, make myself present to capture the little moments, and then make myself slow down enough to share those photos here, and save them into photo books for our family’s memory keeping.

Here’s 2019, coming so soon, a year hopefully for a bit more peace in my soul.