Close to Home

This summer has flown by. With work and taking a class, spending time with family and friends, and John, getting oil changes, going to Great America, driving to Michigan and Ohio, a little camping, and not cleaning my room...

I haven't taken very much time to take pictures just to take pictures. But this past week I took a lot of pictures. A lot. I'm working on a video for my church that will be pictures of people and places around town, accompanied by Brandon Heath's "Give Me Your Eyes." The lyrics in this song are really powerful. If we could look through the eyes of Jesus for just one second, what would we see? Granted, these pictures were still for a project, but something about being in Antioch - basically my backyard - made it personal.

After shooting a lot in the downtown area and around schools and shopping centers, I went to Open Arms Mission because it is a place my church has been involved in and invested in over the years. I'm ashamed to say that it is the first time I've ever been there. I planned to go right when they were distributing food, thinking thats when there would be the most people there. And there were a lot of people. A lot of people just looking for something to eat. A lot of people with smiles on there faces.

I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from that but I know it is more than just some pictures for the screen on Sunday. Something about the need that is right in my backyard. And the joy that these people have. And the sacrifice that the people at Open Arms make and have made their life. Something. I don't really have a conclusion to this... It's hard to not wish it were the beginning of my summer again. To spend a little time with some of the people at Open Arms. To just spend some time there. Not that the things I did were bad or not meaningful. Not at all.

Just something to think about. Something to do about.

She was so excited to have her picture taken. I think she might have thought it was going in the newspaper. No... just my blog. :)

I bet he has some good stories.