by Carrin Mahmood- MA Theology
The Scripture ~ “When I was a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.” Corinthians 13: 11–12“
The Spiritual Focus ~ “If you nurture your mind, body, and spirit, your time will expand. You will gain a new perspective that will allow you to accomplish much more.” Brian Koslow
Breath Prayer ~ Inhale: Open my Eyes ~ Exhale: Doubt ~
The Devotion ~ When scrapbooking came on the scene I wanted to do everything correctly. One of the hot topics was “black and whites”. The thought at the time was to make sure you took a roll or two of black and white photos every year because their life expectancy was longer. We have black and white photos that are more than one hundred years old, and we don’t have the advantage of time to know how colored photography will age. So dutifully I began keeping a roll in an extra camera, and at every event I would take one or two pictures with my “alternate camera”. Within a year or two the expert advice had changed. Since black and white film was being developed on the same paper and with the same chemicals as colored film there would virtually be no difference in their longevity. What happened in those two years was a love of the black and white pictures I had now accumulated. There was shadow play, and depth that my colored photos just didn’t have. There was also a new awareness of expression and features that had somehow been lost in a sea of bright colors. I had a new perspective of my subjects and their surroundings.
It’s funny how sometimes we are forced to see things in a new way. Once we have a new perspective we can never see things the same way again 1 Corinthians 13: 11–12 says, “When I was a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.”
Once you have met Christ as your Savior and been showered with His incredible unselfish love, you can’t see things the same way again. The exciting part of this Good News is it is only one shutter’s worth of understanding. One day we will be face to face and will understand all that we have seen. Wow, what a new perspective that day will bring!
Yoga Pose ~ Focus Shifting: Relax your body and breathe comfortably. Hold one arm straight out in front of you in a loose fist, with the thumb pointing up. Focus on your thumb. While keeping your eyes trained on it, slowly move the thumb toward your nose until you can no longer focus clearly on it. Pause for a breath or two, and then lengthen the arm back to its original outstretched position, while maintaining focus on the thumb. Repeat up to 10 times.
