Eyes
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Remarkable! Every morning I wake up and open my eyes. I can immediately see in living color and in 3D. Even before I have my coffee, I am able to distinguish between a dozen different light and dark tones. And auto-focus has been included at no extra charge!
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When I became interested in nature photography, looking through the eye of my camera was quite different. The first thing I realized was that cameras only “see” in two dimensions. I also found that slide film was only capable of distinguishing five different light and dark tones. In addition, the camera’s perspective was more limited than the wider view I could see with my eyes. And auto-focus wasn’t even a gleam in anyone’s eyes. So, to become a better nature photographer, I had to train myself to see as the camera sees.
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There is another type of vision that I am still working on. It is seeing with my heart. The reason this is important to me is that throughout his life, Jesus demonstrated that his heart did more than just pump blood. One example that comes immediately to mind is in Luke 7:11-15. Jesus and his disciples, accompanied by a large crowd, went to Nain, a village about 20 miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee. As this group approached the village gates, they encountered a funeral procession just exiting the town. A widow’s only son had died. The woman and a large number of village residents were going to bury this woman’s beloved son. Jesus stopped the funeral procession and proceeded to restore the young man back to life. What is most unusual about this event is that of all the people there – the widow, the casket-bearers, the large number of folks in the funeral procession, the disciples, and the crowd of folks following Jesus – not one person asked Jesus to intervene. Nobody. Jesus performed this miracle solely out of his own compassion.
And so, my prayer is:
“Open the eyes of my heart, Lord!”
Every morning!