Waiting for the perfect picture, losing the moment
This week I am still thinking about the ocean! Rob and I are both scuba divers and we took our oldest daughter diving in Indonesia in celebration of her graduation from high school. We traveled close to three days to arrive at our destination directly opposite to North Carolina on the globe. In diving, you always dive with a buddy. Rob was mine, and the Godfather to our twins was our oldest daughter’s buddy. As we geared up for our first dive, we started getting excited about all we would encounter. We heard about pygmy seahorses, wobbegong sharks, walking sharks, blue ring octopus, and so much more. We were ready to go as we watched everyone around us prepping all their camera gear and continuing to prepare for the dive. Every dive, we went in the water first, and we were the first to get out of the water. We didn’t have cameras and focused on the moments. We saw all of it! Walking sharks, not one, but many pygmy seahorses. It was amazing. Even more amazing? When we came up from one of our dives, we saw a beautiful whale shark…everyone else was still on the dive trying to capture the perfect picture. We heard time and again frustration from the other divers that didn’t see anything or were not able to get the perfect photo. Not us, we could not stop talking about the amazing things we saw on each dive. We spent every dive just soaking in the experience. I may not have physical pictures of all we experienced, but I have the memories and I did not miss a thing!
God reminds us that “whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4, NIV). Fretting and worrying about what may be coming or focusing on the picture you plan to share with others causes us to miss on living in the moment. Have you ever delayed starting something waiting for the perfect moment or the perfect weather? Have you ever focused on capturing that perfect photo or video and missed the moment?
One of our girls is a dancer and I think one of the greatest gifts some of the competitions give parents is limiting photography. In these competitions I get to watch my girl own the stage. I can feel her emotion in the dance with my own eyes, and not through a camera lens. I catch my breath as I watch her leap where time seems to stand still as she floats on air. What a blessing!
Today, I pray that you not focus on the perfect picture or delay with worry about the perfect moment-go live, go experience and be blessed.
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