Hi Friends,
Today is picture day at school for the girls. So today as we were frantically fixing hair and practicing smiles, I remembered what I learned the last time our family had pictures taken. Then, God taught me where to look and how to smile ... in life.
It happened like this:
I
knew it was impossible. It simply
couldn’t be done. Yet there we sat, all
eight of us, trying to pose for a photo of the family. Yes, it was crazy.
The baby fussed. The two-year-old jumped up and down and then
tried to stand on his head. The
five-year-old twins looked everywhere but the camera. The eight-year-old attempted to get the
two-year-old to stand up, and the oldest kept making faces at the baby, hoping
to get her to stop crying. I waved my
hand in front of the group and tried to get them to look forward.
Click.
I grimaced. Just what I needed, a professional picture of
my blurry hand to send to friends and relatives.
The photographer stood behind the
camera and motioned with one hand.
“Let’s try that again. Stand
closer together please, and look at the camera.”
Fat chance.
We squeezed in. The baby stopped crying. Jayden stuck a finger up his nose. Joelle pulled it out. “Look at the cam--”
Click.
Not again.
The photographer adjusted the
camera. “Everyone look here and
smile.”
I did.
“Little boy, look at me.”
He didn’t.
Jayna pointed to the corner of the
room. “Hey, cobwebs.”
Bethany twisted around. “Jayna!”
Everyone squirmed. And wiggled.
And complained.
“Joelle’s not looking at the
camera.”
“Well, neither are you.”
“Bethany’s not looking either.”
“I am too.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Bria stop closing your eyes.”
“Dad’s not smiling.”
“Jayden, stop it.”
Click!
Jayna jumped down from the short box
she was standing on. “Are we done?”
The photographer shook his
head. “Not yet.” He pulled a big stuffed frog from a basket on
his left. It was a floppy thing with
wide feet and a red mouth. He slapped it
on his head. The legs drooped down over
his forehead. Then he made funny noises.
Jayden giggled. Jayna rubbed her
nose.
The frog waggled.
The kids wiggled.
“Everyone just look at the
frog-headed man!” I shouted.
They all looked up, even the
baby.
The photographer peeked from around
the camera. “Mom, you too, please.”
“What? Oh yeah.”
I stared and the frog and pasted on a smile.
Click.
The photographer breathed out a
sigh. “I think we got it.”
“Really? Everyone’s looking? Their eyes are all open?”
“Yep, this is a good one.”
And it was... all eight of us
looking at the camera and most even smiling.
That day, I discovered that the only
way to get a good picture was by all fixing our eyes on the frog-headed man.
When one of us stopped looking ahead, and instead gazed off in our own
direction or when we started looking at each other and telling each other to
"look at the camera, smile, don't close your eyes," we couldn't get a
decent picture. It was only when each person decided to focus and smile, and
let the photographer correct the others, that we got a good picture at last.
I was reminded of Hebrews 12:2
(NIV), where we're encouraged to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith." Life in
Christ works a lot like a family photo. The only way to get a
good shot is if I fix my eyes on Jesus rather than looking around to see if
everyone else is doing it right. When I fix my eyes on Jesus, and keep them
there, he will perfect my faith. When I fix my eyes on how others are falling
short, my own faith falters.
I’ve found that life works a lot
better when I allow God to correct others, to help them look forward and
smile. When I try to play God for them,
then I stop looking where I need to look. I also stop smiling. So from now on, I’m going to allow Jesus to be the true
photographer in my life, and in the lives of those around me. And I hope he won’t need to wear a frog on
his head to keep my attention.
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