Shadows & Reflections in Monochrome (Lens-Artist Photo Challenge 2-08-2023)

Good Morning Readers,

The Lens-Artist Photo Challenge this week (here) has the theme of shadows and reflections in monochrome. 

As I searched my photo archives, an outreach theme unfolded. 

The first photo is of some confetti on the lawn. This confetti was leftover from my father-n-law’s  funeral service last year. I shook out some of the tablecloths and those little circles lingered for a while. The leftover confetti brought many smiles. Sometimes I would catch a shimmering circle and i reflected on how sweet the funeral turned out. Other times, I saw a piece of confetti and then I would marvel at how my father-n-law had a decent final few years (truly a gift by the grace of God). 

A short while after the funeral service for my FIL, I was on my way to visit my mother in Florida (I love those East Coast drives down I-95). On that particular trip, I met a lady at a rest area (photo is below) because she was sick and I offered to help. Our brief encounter was this simple human connecting. This is kind of funny now, but at first I was concerned that she was being trafficked.  

I thought that this lady was maybe being trafficked because it was in the middle of the night and she was throwing up and then talking (discreetly) to someone on her phone in one of the stalls. At first I left the restroom but like a magnet to steel, I felt drawn back. I quietly asked her if she needed any help. It turned out that she was NOT being trafficked and she was talking to her mother on the phone because she was sick. Her father was helping her move down south (to be with her spouse) and she had the flu! We talked (and prayed) and then I shared some club sodas with her (see the cans in her hands?). I also gave her some of the leftover trees from my father-n-law’s funeral (because at his service – we gave out some mini trees for folks to plant and there were many leftovers). We connected so much that it led to grabbing a selfie. 

Thinking of others can make you feel so good!

We got rid of a lot of stuff last year. It would have been easier to toss these items into the trash – but the effort to recycle items is an important outreach. 

Some might remember John – and his smile sign  – from previous posts. We saw him again last October but have not seen him since. 

This is Micheal (I covered his face for privacy). We used to bring him a meal regularly (on and off) for about a year. Our paths have not crossed in a while, but he is such a nice guy. 

I took this photo on a hike last year – just so I could share it on my blog. The hike was unique because flowers were everywhere and it was floral delight. In a way, our blogs are a type of outreach. 

We all blog for different reasons. Sometimes we take time off (or might stop for good) but let us all remember that blogging has an outreach element to it.  Blogging can allow us to invest in others as we connect and contribute. That is good news. It should bring a smile to those lips!

Closing thought with an excerpt from an 1800’s author:

“I occasionally meet people who say to me, “I had many a pleasant hour, in my childhood, reading your Juvenile Miscellany; and now I am enjoying it over again, with my own little folks.”

Such remarks remind me that I have been a long time in the world; but if a few acknowledge me as the household friend of two generations, it is a pleasant assurance that I have not lived altogether in vain.  When I was myself near the fairy-land of childhood, I used my pen for the pleasure of children; and now that I am traveling down the hill I was then ascending, I would fain give some words of consolation and cheer to my companions on the way. If the rays of my morning have helped to germinate seeds that ripened into flowers and fruit, I am grateful to Him, from whom all light and warmth proceeds.”

~ L. Maria Child from Looking Towards Sunset, 1881

Let us all find that “pleasant assurance” as we do what we do – so we will “not have lived altogether in vain.”

• Thanks  for visiting this post. Interested in joining the Lens-Artists challenge? Click here for general information.
• Also, just a reminder, the 2023 #Dickenschallenge is now underway. We invite you to read three noverllas from Dickens between 2/7 and 6/9. More info here. 

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