The Story Behind the
Lens
We've all heard the saying, a picture is worth a 1000 words. It certainly is true. But 1000 words is a lot to read at once. Not that these pictures aren't worth it, you may just not have time to read it all!
So to condense things a bit, I'm calling this section of my site "The story behind the lens"
Pictures that we take are moments in time. We take a lot them, some we keep, some we don't. Some we put in an album (or at least we used to!) or save them on google drive, or somewhere else. Sometimes we look back on them, and we're brought back to that moment when we took that picture. We often remember how we felt in that moment, why we took that picture, we may even remember the room or place we were in. There are memories, sounds and smells that might come back to us just by looking at a picture.
I love photography, and the amazing things you can do with a camera. So I wanted to dedicate a space here on my site to share the story behind the lens of these following pictures.
Join me in traveling back in time and learning something new!
The Bench on a Path
Here is a basic bench. With a basic little pathway. Near a basic small river. Fall 2002.
But it’s the location that represents something special. This bench is located right near a little spot in Calgary Alberta, called Kensington. In this small area of the city, there was a residence building for Nazarene University College (now known as Ambrose University in a different location in the city). Those who lived in the small residence, had to walk across the walkway above the river and close to this pathway on a daily basis. Sometimes 2-3 times a day (depending on when your classes were!) Our school was small at that time and was located in an office building downtown Calgary, about a 10 min walk from the residence. I was born here in this city, many many years ago. My parents moved to PEI when I was 4 months old, and here I was in 2002, 18 years old and ready to take on the world, returning to my birth place for college.
Many memories and friendships were made here, I spent 3 years in the city, graduated from college and headed back to the east coast.
But it was just during my first year that I walked on that path on a daily basis not far from this bench.
To some, it's just a bench that may not even exist anymore, but to me....it represents an amazing season of my life.
88 Keys
July 23, 2023
This picture of a piano I used to have (we got for free, and took like 5 men to lift it in and out of the house! lol), of the simple black and white keys, represent so many things in my life and who I am.
The first thing this reminds me of, are the many moments I tried practicing my piano lessons as a kid. I think I was about 5 years old approximately when I started, and continued on throughout my school years. The tough days, where I didn't want to practice, I got mad at myself when I couldn’t get it. There were many times I wanted to quit. However, my parents made me keep going throughout my childhood and I reached grade 4 in the Royal Conservatory books/tests/level. And then guess what happened. When it came time to go to college after high school, I chose Nazarene University College (Ambrose it's called now) to go into the music program, and major in voice. And guess what grade of music I needed to have to get in. Grade 4! So as an adult, I can push aside my pride, and thank my parents for making me stick with those piano lessons most of my life. Because without it, I wouldn't have gotten into the school I wanted, and then I wouldn't have come out with my Bachelors degree in Music in 2005. (Almost 20 years ago! Yikes)
Second, when I see this picture, I'm also reminded of those before me who loved and played the piano. My mom, my dad actually did too in his day, quite a few others in my family, and also my Nana. Her fingers flowed effortlessly across those keys, and she was amazing at the organ as well. She had a small one in her home, and when my oldest daughter was like 1-2 years old, she loved playing away on that thing with Nana (bonus picture below!).
Lastly, the piano also represents music, beauty, opportunity, endless songs and
sounds, and I am so amazed how those 88 keys can bring forth a world of emotion,
passion, sound, and creativity. I wouldn't claim to be a concert pianist by any means,
but I love to write music, see what can be created on it, teach others how to play it,
practice it at home, play it in my church as I get to lead and play with the teams.
Music is a great passion of mine, and am so thankful that I have had opportunity to
learn it. I just wish I had more time to play more and work on remembering all those
things I learned in University!
What is something that you love so much that you couldn’t live without? Or what is something you used to love to do, but gave up on it? Maybe it’s time to try again!
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The Church on a Hill
Lutes Mountain, New Brunswick Canada. Ever been there? Just outside of Moncton, NB. Many years ago, my family and I lived in Moncton/Lutes Mountain for 7 years in total, and many of those years we lived in the parsonage across the street. This was a season of training, learning and discovery in my life. My first daughter was born here (becoming a parent for the first time!), and I had some pretty amazing work experiences in the city and within this church. Life-long friendships began and developed here. This was a memorable place in my life.
This church in particular, is the Lutes Mountain Church of the Nazarene. It's almost 75 years old. A big reunion and party happening this fall in fact to celebrate! This building has seen a lot of amazing sunsets on the Lutes Mountain hill, but also some pretty tough Maritime winter storms. This building has seen many funerals, weddings, baby dedications, the sending of some amazing leaders, and has welcomed many caring and legendary people that have contributed to the life of this place and it's people. Even though the building can't talk, I can imagine though it would say something like
"Many years have come and gone, I've seen much joy and much sorrow. I have
housed the presence of God, and fought many battles. People have cherished this
place, and some have condemned it. Generations have come and gone, but
through it all, I'm still standing".
Can we say the same for our own lives? That we're still standing even in the midst of all that we have experienced in life?
This building in particular, is not important to me because of the wood and roof it has, but the people it's had within its walls. Some life-long friendships have been nurtured here. And also, my career path towards becoming a minister of the gospel. I was trained, taught, challenged, and pushed into becoming the leader I am today. Yes I'm still learning, but this place housed my early years of experience, and the love and support I received along the way gave me the strength and encouragement to carry on, to keep going, to press into where God was leading me in terms of ministry.
The leaders, my friends, the teams I was a part of here, will never be forgotten or taken for granted. Every time I go back to this place, I'm welcomed with open arms, in to the arms of family. Even with some new faces there, and some that have passed on, I feel safe and at home and reminded that every season in life contributes to who we are today, and I am thankful I was able to call this home for a time in my life.
The Girl from Haiti
In 2016, I was a part of a team from Canada that went to Haiti for a short term missions trip. One of the days we were there, we visited an orphanage to bring supplies for their staff and kids, as they were known by our team coordinators. I didn’t know what to expect before arriving.
There was a mixture of kids in this place. Some were quiet, some were disabled, some were hungry, some were excited, unsure, and curious. You could tell some of them had never seen white people before, and we stuck out like a sore thumb! We were visiting, and handing out toys and balls and supplies, and all of sudden I saw this little girl at a distance. She caught my attention immediately. She didn’t smile, she didn’t talk…but she didn’t even have to. Her face spoke a 1000 words. The kids had a hard time understanding our English, but I felt I had to take a picture of her.
When I got home, and looked at this picture again, I was flooded with emotion, questions, amazement and more. Still to this day, 7 years later, I still have the same reaction.
What do you see when you see this picture of this beautiful sweet little girl? What emotions flood through your heart and mind? I try to image the life she has seen and experienced already, but I can at least imagine there’s been heartache, turmoil and difficulties that she has endured in her little life. I don’t know the story of where her parents or other family members are. I don’t even know her name. But the message I get from her eyes is “don’t forget me”. Don’t forget me, or any of us. Tell our story. Come back again. We need your help. Life is hard here. I just want to be loved and feel safe.
Even though we may sense sad or depressing things from this picture, I encourage you to look at this with the perspective of hope and light. Perhaps she’s trying to say, “I have a future, I want to grow up to help others like me, keep moving forward, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We can make it through tough times, and even in the midst of what we don’t have, we are grateful for what we do have.” It’s all in the eye of the beholder, and I would rather choose to behold hope and a future.
This picture reminds me to be grateful, to open my eyes to try and understand where others are coming from, what they have experienced, lived through, and see people with the lens of peace and gentleness. This little girl can teach all of us so many lessons, simply from looking into the camera that hot summer day in Port-Du-Prince, Haiti. The eyes are truly a window to the soul, and if we look hard enough, if we try hard enough, we can enter into someone else’s world and bring them comfort and a listening ear or heart which is sometimes all that a person needs. Be the light!