There's Wonder All Around!

Everywhere I look, I see things that fill me with awe. For example, one mid-February afternoon, I went out into the yard to photograph. I had no idea what I’d find that would make a good subject for a photograph, but I felt confident I’d find something, even though the landscape was composed mainly of shades of brown, gray, and black.

With pleasure, I noticed that the tender daffodil shoots had survived the snow that had blanketed them a few days before.

Normally, I could find lots of beautiful camellia blooms to photograph, since we have several bushes, each producing a different kind of bloom, but all the blooms and buds had been “burned” by the bitterly cold temperatures.

“Maybe I can find one that looks good,” I said to myself. Sure enough, I found one in a sheltered spot near the bottom and center of the bush. So, I picked it and then placed it in a spot on the bush where I could photograph it more easily. It looked very natural there, so I set to work.



The 12 mm extension tube I’d added to my 50 mm lens before placing it on my camera greatly magnified what I was seeing through the viewfinder. So, I literally caught my breath as I noticed, as if for the first time, not only the beautiful pale pink color of the petals but their gently curving edges and the way they fit so perfectly together, layer upon layer. Amazing! A true work of art!

Enthralled by its loveliness, I lingered there, capturing thirty or more images of that one bloom, from various angles. Finally, I forced myself to leave and walked around the house to the holly tree that was loaded with red berries. I sprayed some of them with water, watching eagerly for a single drop that would form at the bottom of a berry or leaf. As soon as I spotted one, I set to work, hoping to capture the surrounding colors reflected in that tiny drop.


Once again, I gasped with wonder at the image in the viewfinder. Such perfection. Such beauty in the bright red berries and in the deep green of the leaves themselves and also in the tiny droplet.

I felt a similar sense of awe as I photographed nandina berries in the front yard and a tightly encased bud on the Japanese Magnolia tree.

When the cold compelled me to go inside, I didn’t want to lose the sense of wonder I’d felt. So, I moved a 6-inch pot of tulips into better light and began to photograph their centers. With window light lighting them from behind and “fill flash” from my camera lighting them from the front, I captured amazing details that I would have missed if I hadn’t slowed down to take a long look.

Experiences such as these remind me that wonder is, indeed, all around. Whenever I see it, it leads me to worship the One who created such wondrous details. I’m thankful I can do that. According to Romans 1:25, some folks worship the things God has made but stop short of worshipping Him. How sad to miss the joy and blessing of worship! But far more importantly, how unfair to deprive Him of the praise rightfully due Him!!


(c) 2010 by Johnnie Ann Gaskill. These photos as well as others on this blog are for sale. To purchase, please contact Johnnie.

Blessings in Every Trial

For over two months now, I’ve been experiencing round-the-clock nausea. While my doctor has no definitive answer, yet, as to why, he has told me I do have gastritis and esophagitis, which he attributes to acid reflux. He wants me to have more diagnostic tests to find out for sure what’s really causing the problem.

In the meantime, I continue to feel miserable. I am sick of being sick! Increasingly, I’m giving up activities, like photography, that I used to engage in because bending over, even slightly, produces more nausea.

One weekend, when the nausea was particularly bad, I spent all day Saturday propped up on the couch, trying to stay as still as possible. I watched a photography CD that inspired me so much that I played it again and again, longing for the images I take to convey the beauty and wonder of the Creator’s work.

Sunday, I felt just a tad better, so I spent most of the day at my computer, which didn’t require much bending (other than when I got up and down). Although I couldn’t go outside in the spring-like weather and photograph the daffodils, I spent many pleasant hours designing 3.5 x 5-inch note cards.

To create them, I used photos I’d taken some time ago. By late afternoon, I had several designs that I really liked. One of the last ones I created (shown here) had a pastel pink background (that was actually a close-up of a camellia bloom I’d taken weeks ago).

As I worked with that quote—changing the font size and color, creating a border for it, etc.—I realized God had indeed given me “a blessing in each trial,” several blessings, in fact! For example, if I hadn’t been too sick to do other things, I probably wouldn’t have designed the note cards. And the persons to whom they would have been sent (whether by me and/or by those who purchased the cards) would have missed out on much-needed encouragement.

Another blessing I’ve received during this trial has been “a faithful friend to share” it. Actually, I have many friends who are concerned about me and are praying, as I am, that I will soon be well. Although none of my friends can make the nausea go away, their support helps me endure it.

As I reflect on this current problem, I realize anew that others I’ve encountered have also contained blessings of some sort. Initially, some were not obvious, but as I look back on various trials I’ve been through, I can see God-given blessings in each one.

That’s why I remind myself often of Romans 8:28: “God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them.”

Although the “things” themselves aren’t necessarily “good” (my nausea, for example), God takes all difficulties and distresses and extracts blessings from them. I do not understand how He does it, only that He does!

©2010 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill