The Camera Doesn't Lie

I'm so thankful to have a camera of my own again so that I capture the moment. But I'm not too fond of anyone capturing my moments because I've never liked pictures of myself. I'm sure this is something that all of us feel at some time or other. Suffice it to say that this is not something new to me. I have camera phobia. Some reasons are legitimate, and some obviously are not. But there it is and I won't elaborate further.

Today we had our Puppy Play-date as announced in yesterday's post. Yes, it went well. Yes, the dogs were happy to see each other. Yes, Pepper is tired now (hooray!). And yes, I had two shadows following me everywhere again. It was great!

I took pictures to document the day. At one point I forgot myself entirely and asked Pastor Dad to get my camera to take a picture of the dogs and me. Once the pictures were uploaded I watched the slide show results. Mistake!

There were a couple of pictures of me lying on the couch with the dogs fussing nearby. THAT'S WHAT I LOOK LIKE?!!! Good grief!

Okay, first, I've got a cold. That accounts for the red nose and the fact that I was lying down to begin with. Second, like I said, I was lying down. That accounts for my hair and clothes being all mussed up. Third, I was looking downward toward the dogs because they were fighting over who got the honor of napping on my legs. Does looking downward account for the sagging cheeks and double chins? No, probably the 20 extra pounds that I've been unable to lose would account for that. Again, good grief! We're at the beginning of the holiday season, not the end! I shudder to think what the shutter will reveal once the holidays are over and all the fudge is gone! (For most people the holidays are about gifts. For me they are about goodies.)

All of this made me think of the verses in James about the man who sees his face in the mirror and then goes his way forgetting what he really looks like (cf. James 1:23-25). He's a hearer and not a doer. Cameras are a lot like mirrors. They don't lie about how you look at a certain moment. Only if you are (un)fortunate enough to be "caught" will you have visual proof of reality because unlike mirrors, photos tend to hang around awhile for all to see. Just go to any Cracker Barrel restaurant and look at all of the old ones on the walls! Photographs never go away. They are just sold at auctions!

The Lord reminded me of some things that He'd pointed out recently in His Word. In His quiet voice He asked me, "Did you forget about what I showed you that you look like spiritually? I KNOW you heard me when I told you about your blemish (I think He actually said "sin") marring your spiritual appearance! Are you going to do anything about it?"

Well, I've got two options facing me physically. I can either break all the mirrors and cameras in the hopes of never seeing myself again or I can start back exercising. The first option won't change me, it will only change my perception of me. I'd have to put blinders over the eyes of everyone else to keep them from seeing the real me though. The exercise option would actually work to fix the problem whereas the first one would just pretend no problem exists.

I've got the same options facing me spiritually. I can either ignore the Lord's convicting Holy Spirit or I can repent and allow Him to help me make necessary changes in my life.

I'll catch you later. There's work to be done!

And no, I won't show you the picture!