Wide Angle View of Life

When I was in the Cub Scouts, my family went to Yosemite the first time. My parents bought me a Brownie Hawkeye camera made by Kodak, and soon I was an avid amateur photographer. When someone offered to finance a trip to the Holy Land for me, I bought my first camera with interchangeable lenses. One of those lenses was a wide-angle lens, and for some reason it became my favorite. A few years later, I was part of a monthly color slide competition, and most of the submitted slides winning ribbons were taken with that wide-angle lens.
Looking back, it appears that looking through the wide-angle lens had an effect upon how I see life. That applies to life on earth as well as possibly on other planets. While most people see their lives on an hour-by-hour or day-by-day basis, I tend to see things more broadly, seeing our country’s progress in terms of decades, and seeing the larger church in the same way. On my second anniversary here next September, I will probably be comparing the two years more than looking at month-to-month progress.
When I was a younger adult, I looked at my professional and spiritual life in terms of 3-5 year blocks of time. It has been a little over a half century since I confessed my faith in Christ and was baptized. It is amazing at how patient God has been with me. There have been many things for which it has been necessary to seek forgiveness. God’s grace and mercy are amazing. I hope that I keep growing and improving.
God has given me a profession that continues to be challenging and fulfilling. Re-examining my example set for others, I am looking for examples that our leaders can provide that will lead to further growth. We plan to establish our congregation’s web page on the internet during this coming month. Other congregations testify to the fact that their internet presence creates more visitors and new members.
Since God gave me a novel to write, now it is in the marketplace for the critics to cross-examine. As I am writing this, someone on the internet that I have never met has inquired regarding the address of my blog which shares my faith. My novel serves as a springboard for conversation there. I hope conversations will start here as well.