Abandoned Nest

 

"Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear."

―Matthew 13:16, NIV 

 

In December of 2010, my sister and I placed our ninety-one year old mother in a nursing home. Anyone, who has walked this path, knows the emotional toll it takes upon a family. God, in his grace, used my love for photography as a diversion from the events that were beginning to unfold. My frequent thirty-minute drives to and from the facility became occasions for me to collaborate with the Lord as to my next daily photo and blog post.

Twenty-two days after my mother entered the facility, I noticed an abandoned nest in an adjacent wooded lot. As I focused my camera's lens on its poignant beauty, God quietly spoke to me of another “abandoned nest”―one whose tenant would never return.

I will always cherish my encounter and the bittersweet token of beauty God tenderly placed on my difficult path that day, simply to say . . . “I am here.” 

After a nine month stay, my mother left the facility for her eternal nesting place. That was two years ago today. I miss her daily.

Sting of Death

This Jellyfish―though dead, still has the capacity to sting.

 

But for mankind―those who have found new life in Christ,

death has lost its sting.

 

"Oh death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ."  ―1 Corinthians 15:55-57, KJV

A reason to ―REJOICE!

 

 

 

This photo was taken at Holden Beach, NC 2011