Well, I've been marvelling for weeks about the photographic skill and talents a few of my friends have. I'm wondering if it's the camera, or the person, or the subjects. I wonder if I can take cool photos like that, too? Could really flattering pictures be taken of me? Then our Relief Society was shown a video that contained pictures of us alternated with Jesus. Knowing that pictures had been snapped of us at various events lately, we all waited to see what we would look like. As I watched the faces of my friends pop up, they were all beautiful to me and I had an epiphany.
When we look at pictures of ourselves, we tend to see just that moment and whatever blemishes were caught. Are my eyes crossed, how many chins do I have, is my skin smooth? I didn't have any of these thoughts as I saw my friends. In the 5 seconds I saw their faces, I saw each of them laughing, holding happy or sad babies, serving a friend, giving a talk, sharing secrets and reflecting their testimonies of our Savior. I thought, this is how God sees us.
Why should it be so hard to see ourselves this way? Why do we focus on the lines and dark spots instead of the smiles and the light? So, I grabbed my camera last night and took a few close-ups of my family, hoping for a dazzling shot. I don't know that the shots are that good, but the faces in them are beautiful! Tonight I'm going to talk with the kids about seeing the best in themselves and others. I hope they can understand it like I did in that moment while I watched the video. I hope when then look at themselves in the mirror, they see more than that moment. I hope they see who they really are at that moment, and I hope they like it. I hope we can all see ourselves and each other with God's grace.
When we look at pictures of ourselves, we tend to see just that moment and whatever blemishes were caught. Are my eyes crossed, how many chins do I have, is my skin smooth? I didn't have any of these thoughts as I saw my friends. In the 5 seconds I saw their faces, I saw each of them laughing, holding happy or sad babies, serving a friend, giving a talk, sharing secrets and reflecting their testimonies of our Savior. I thought, this is how God sees us.
Why should it be so hard to see ourselves this way? Why do we focus on the lines and dark spots instead of the smiles and the light? So, I grabbed my camera last night and took a few close-ups of my family, hoping for a dazzling shot. I don't know that the shots are that good, but the faces in them are beautiful! Tonight I'm going to talk with the kids about seeing the best in themselves and others. I hope they can understand it like I did in that moment while I watched the video. I hope when then look at themselves in the mirror, they see more than that moment. I hope they see who they really are at that moment, and I hope they like it. I hope we can all see ourselves and each other with God's grace.
3 comments:
As I watched that video on Sunday, I had the very same thoughts.
I love you and that is so wonderful. I thought it was put perfectly!
You've always had a great talent of seeing what's most important in people, building them up, and bringing out the light.
Well said!
Post a Comment