Up close

I had some friends challenge me not long ago about doing art journaling.  I LOVE to draw, but honestly, any more, it is an energy issue for me.  My hands fatigue quickly.  So, I've been trying to think what I could do.  Abby (my daughter) is doing a photo challenge right now for 31 days and she mentioned I could do it with her.  I accepted the challenge.  It's been fun trying to help her learn and figure things out. 

So, here's what I'm going to do... I'm taking on the 31 day challenge but I'm going to tie it into my journaling/quiet time each day.  Being a medical mama, my life is busy and I can promise you, I won't be doing 31 consecutive days, however, I will do my 31 days and see what we come up with! 

So, day one: 

Up close

 

 

 



Looking at this photo, I see broken.  Everything else around the broken area is a blur.  For me, I think this has been life all too often here lately. 

 

Sometimes, in the midst of the mire and the muck of life, we focus in on the part that's easiest to see.  It's the part that is right there, in front of us, staring us down, and often times, it's the most felt area of our lives...The areas that when no one else is looking, we dwell there... but in those moments... I am reminded (at least in my own life) that these areas, these are the up close areas that we want to hide from people and even from God. These are the areas that God wants to be the nearest too!  We often want to push people away (again, at least in my own life... and I have been in this place recently and still really kind of am...)... we want to make people not see the broken parts and only see the whole parts!  We want to convince ourselves, everyone around us, and often times, for some, even God that everything is just OK!

 

So, with this, God brings to my mind, James 4:8a "Come close to God and He will come close to you..."

 

God wants to be close... he wants to see the broken places, he wants to see the areas in our lives that no one could see, UNLESS they got UP CLOSE...