Dad's Camera

John 5:26 – For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. (NIV)

My dad loved to take photographs in and around the city of Glasgow, where our family grew up in Scotland. Practically every Saturday morning, he would catch a bus to go downtown and walk around the city streets with his wee camera. He would photograph buildings and stores, street signs and busy roads. He would make pictures of statues and fountains, churches and pubs, parks and ponds.

When he had the photographs developed, he would write out short comments about the history of the places he visited. He built up amazing scrapbooks of local information. The city that he loved was changing all around him, and he knew in his heart that if someone somewhere didn't mark those changes, local history would be lost to future generations.

When mom died, our family wondered what dad would do, and we worried about him, but then he surprised us all — by contacting a publisher to put all of his photographs, postcards, and comments into a book. When he died, eleven years later, he had successfully published ten books. All those Saturday mornings had become a bounty of blessings, not just for him and our family, but for the entire city of Glasgow.

What are some of his children now doing? They are going all over Scotland, taking photographs and writing short comments about the scenery, history, local stories, and people. Perhaps in the years to come, other books will be written, for just as dad made a meaningful life for himself, he has passed on and granted that to his children.

I guess the challenge for all of us today is this: what are we going to do with our time and talents in the life and locality God has granted to us?

Prayer: Lord God, You have blessed us with life, and we seek to make it meaningful. Help us to discover our talents so that we may focus upon them, make something of ourselves, and bring all the glory to You. In Jesus' name we purposefully pray. Amen.

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