Tuesday

I can't explain it...

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...but fences and fence posts capture my attention. 

Neighbors who happen to see me out in the pasture early in the morning taking pictures of rotting fence posts must think I've lost it. And truthfully? Many, if not most, of those photos end up in the trash. I would have deleted this picture of a lichen-covered post if it weren't for those sparkling bokeh jewels in the background. 

It's one of my favorite photography techniques - creating those lovely bokeh pearls like the ones in the field beyond the fence and over the little froggy's head in that photo in the sidebar.

The camera and my eyes were focused on the ugly rotting fence post and barb wire, but the blur and colors of bokeh lights created interest and beauty that could not have been seen with the naked eye alone. 

And I am reminded that much of what I often see in crusty people and rotten circumstances is shallow and superficial, and how desperate I am for Holy Spirit vision that will reveal the beauty I cannot otherwise see and offers hope in what shines and sparkles deeper and just beyond.  
"...For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” I Samuel 16:7
It's with my camera that I often walk with Him - seeing beauty and life and light I'd otherwise miss. 

And you? What are some of the ways you walk through this life - where the Holy Spirit peels away what we see on the outside to reveal His heart of love and grace and beauty? If you are a photographer, what is one of your favorite techniques?

{A gently edited post from the archives}