.Photographic.Memory.

I would like to take some time to reflect on something I love.

Photography.

There is something about a photo that grabs me, tugs at the very strings of my heart. A blissful memory stamped on a clean white canvas. Each finely detailed line tells a story of how the photograph came to be.

So much beauty contained in such a simple thing.

That's where we stand as humans. We are images, finely detailed and tuned to please the eye, when really, behind each photo there is an ugly story of some sort.

We are photographs shot by the best photographer there is:

God.

We are images of the Almighty Lord.

Yet, we each have our own intricate story that no living human can explain. A story that only the photographer behind the camera knows and understands. Any good photographer cares and feels for their subject.

And just imagine, our Creator is the greatest photographer there is, and therefore cares for us beyond all measure.

It's quite comforting.

In the process of developing the photograph, a photographer will encounter blemishes and imperfections in the initial prints. The Lord knows that we are all in development, and therefore possess blemishes and imperfections. The best part is, we, the images of the Almighty, may communicate with Him and ask for guidance.

What photograph ever has the ability to physically talk to a photographer?

This presents us with a very encouraging thought.

We are photographs with blemishes that God will never stop working on. He wants us to be perfect, though in all reality, we all fall short.

Still, our Father, our Creator, our Lord will NEVER give up on us.

...He just loves us that much...

.Life Moving.Life Standing Still.

So this past week I have mulled over the various intricacies of being a secondary school teacher. Is it a worthwhile profession? Is God truly calling upon me, Cory Stocks, to mentor and educate high school aged kids?

Is this clumsy, stuttering, nonsensical 21 year old man really fit to teach?

Or is it all a false hope?

To answer these questions, I need to do something I am not very good at....

Open up the floor for God to do his work. Because He relies on the weak. He cherishes the lame, the blind, the crippled. Among these are his gems, his prized possessions. He calls those who are incapable of speaking effectively to...well quite frankly...speak. Why is it that God chooses us who have a hard time verbally expressing ourselves...to teach?

Is it because He likes to challenge us, test us beyond our abilities?

Is it because He wants us to be mocked, cursed, laughed at?

Or is it because our loving Creator wants to take our breath away and breathe into us a new mentality? A mentality that requires us to lose ourselves, to say:

"I Submit."

I prefer to assume that the latter is the case.

Every day, I go to work to some of the most amazing people in the world...children, and these children are not highly educated, they aren't politically aware of society's standards of living...

And no, they do not know what it is like to have a loving family waiting for them when they get home. No tender kiss on the forehead before they walk out the door to go to school. No adult figure that they can pour their hearts out to when the tears just won't stop coming...

Remember the clumsy, stuttering 21 year old man?

This is where he comes in.

It is upon me to come in and completely lose myself with these kids. To clothe myself in love and serve these kids to the best of my abilities. And it truly is all about them. Not me, not the rest of the staff...them. It is because of the gracious gift of Joy the Lord has bestowed upon me that I am able to serve these children.

I am so thankful that I am able to be a constant in the kids' lives. God's awesome grace has thrown me in the midst of something beautiful. Something I am good at. I believe the Lord has called me to teach, to mentor, to serve selflessly and wholeheartedly in whatever way is deemed necessary.

And to the Lord, I say:

"I'll try my best, Daddy."