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20TH IN OREGON (PART 3)
Jen Mininger • Oct 28, 2019
20th in Oregon, Part 3
In the middle of our fun beach time... a kind and gentle, sort of soft spoken man approaches us.
He politely told us, “This is really beautiful… the dress, the scene, it just looks really nice." Then he asked if he could take a photo of me with his phone.
So, we got to chatting with Ben… turns out, he went to ART school in Philadelphia years ago… this guy was an ARTIST! So, of course he would want to snap a photo! (Asking to take some random person’s picture… it reminds me of something my daddy, my original artist inspiration, would do!)
After he snapped some photos with his phone (Hey Mr. Ben from OR.. if you did a painting of us… can I see it?), he was kind enough to snap a few photos with my digital camera. I’m so glad he did, because unlike me, he didn’t need to capture the mountain in the background, a crashing wave, or the back-lighting in my hair… cause he saw something from a different perspective.
Do you see what he captured in the photo above? Do you see the reflection from the sky? This is not created on my computer... this is God’s handiwork! The subtle blues and whites in the sky that are reflected in the water - they did a perfect job of framing us in this photo, and I love it!
Thank you Ben for capturing this, and thanks be to God for creating beauty around us and allowing us to see it in a photo for years to come.
Ben carried on with his crabbing, while we carried on with capturing us.
At one point, Korey says to me, “how do you think it would look if I (Korey) took off my shirt?” To which I said, “sure, go for it."
He started to unbutton his shirt then said, “nevermind”. He felt weird, sort of embarrassed… for whatever reason, in that moment he lost his freedom to BE. To be free, unashamed, fully present… It suddenly went away for him.
I saw his lack of freedom come over him like an uninvited guest. I felt sort of sad for Korey, cause here I was feeling such freedom and acceptance from him and God, and I wanted to extend that right back to him. So I told him that I thought it was a good idea and that he should totally take his shirt off… after all we were at the beach… and its actually not weird.
Why do we do that?
How can we have abandoned freedom in one moment then suddenly be totally robbed of it? Did I cause that? Years of critical or sarcastic remarks… was that part of it? I can own that I may have contributed to it, but really, I think it might be inside of most of us. Call it paranoia, call it self conscious, call it becoming an adult… Sometimes there is a place for it, like being self aware, aware of others, behaving appropriately… or something. That’s all good… important even… but right now…this moment, there was NO reason for him to hold back.
This was our time to let go of so much of that. A time to relish in so much of God’s goodness. Almost like worship… and maybe this was worship? Actually… I’m pretty sure it was.
We were totally aware of God’s gifts to us. Completely aware of His crazy love and passion for us. We believed it was HIM that kept us married this long, it was HIM who compelled us to take this trip, and it was HIM who created this fog, this ocean, these mountains. God was completely a part of this moment and it was because of Him that we could relish in it, in a completely free way.
So, if this is all true (and I know it is!), why then do we so often step out of that... that awareness of HIS love and acceptance for us?
...so many reasons.
um…yes, this has been approved by Korey… actually all of these have. WE hope that what we’ve seen and what we are learning encourages, sharpens and strengthens you too!
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Bobbie went from full hustle to full halt and discovered what God can do in a valley season.
It ached to hear the harsh words that she knew could be her own, yet it felt so safe and reassuring to know that God sees her and wants her to have new lyrics in her own heart.
Acknowledging the dark as well as the light feels so honest and helpful in these moments. Although, I will warn, that it can also feel raw and not always easy, YET it is a kindness to ourselves when we start with honesty, isn't it? It is both, difficult and kind.
Letting go.. or saying "no" can be SO HARD ! We don't want to, we'd rather be awesome, all the time, in all the things! BUT... is that really working for you and your people? What do you need to steward (manage, maximize or multiply) better? Do you need to let go of something so that you may better steward something of more value… for a season?
Tracy leaned into the old car unafraid of the dirt and rust that she was now touching.
As I said in an email to my Belize Trip Prayer Team.. “ I am thankful. Actually, I am dumbfounded, humbled and in awe.”
C O N T A C T
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