Kindred Spirits

As soon as I read on http://www.betterphoto.com/ that “kindred spirits” was the theme for that month’s photography contest, I began thinking about photos I might take in order to have some that would fit the theme. In previous contests, such as "gold" and "bliss,"I submitted photos I already had on hand. But my supply of “kindred spirits” photos was woefully lacking. I did find one I’d taken of my two oldest grandsons having a grand time playing in the leaves last year. But that was the only one I thought I could enter.

So, while my husband and I were on vacation in Prince Edward Island, Canada, I often said, “Remember, I need a ‘kindred spirits’ photo!” Since he knew what I liked to photograph (churches, flowers, horses, lighthouses, barns, etc.) and was willing to pull over so I could snap such pictures, I encouraged him to help me spot “kindred spirits” photos.

One day as we were leaving the northernmost tip of the island, I noticed two horses in a pasture right beside the road. “Pull over!” I said. “Those horses will make a great ‘kindred spirits’ photo.”

But when James parked near the fence, the horses were too apprehensive to hold their heads close together, as they had been doing when I’d first spotted them. However, they soon relaxed and renewed their focus on each other, so I snapped photo after photo until I finally got one that I was excited about.

Several miles down the road, we stopped at Northport to photograph a lighthouse. As we strolled on the pier, I saw several cormorants sitting on the edge. Two of them were sitting fairly close to each other. But as I snapped photo after photo, they moved even closer together. The perfect shot came when they turned to face each other, their beaks only a short distance apart. “What a sweet pose!” I said. “You look like you’re best friends!”

I didn't know if my photos would receive awards, but having to photograph an abstract concept like “kindred spirits” made me do a lot of thinking.

“Kindred spirits” calls to mind the close kinship two people have with one another. Perhaps they enjoy the same kinds of things, feel similarly about certain matters, and/or share common goals and dreams. Some “kindred spirits” could even order from the menu for the other person or go shopping for him or her, for what one likes the other does, too. They often exclaim, “You sound just like me!” or “That’s just what I would have done!” Or they might say, “We’re two peas in a pod, aren’t we?”

Jesus spoke of that kind of kinship when He said to His disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father! Even the words I say to you and the works you have seen Me do have come from the Father. For I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” (See John 14.)

Truly, the relationship between the Father and the Son epitomizes “kindred spirits.” But guess what? Jesus also said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23, The New American Standard Bible). We, too, can become “kindred spirits” with them and with fellow believers!

©2007 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. For permission to use, please contact her.