Part of the Equation

Do you ever feel like you could disappear and nothing would change?
Do you ever feel so insignificant and lowly that you wonder why you even try anything at all?

I do. Sometimes.

It's not a good place to be. It's kinda lonely and dreary. I think everyone has those days. But today is NOT one of those days for me. I had my cousins and aunt come to visit me. They cared to spend time with me, share some good laughs, and add to our treasure trove of memories. It is so wonderful to be loved. It warms your heart.

The evil one may tempt to despair, he may reach out his tentacles to wrap us in fear and doubt. When you listen to him you may think that you can be canceled out, disappeared, and no one would even notice.

But that is a lie.

2 Thessalonians 2:13: But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

Isaiah 42:6-7:
I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

Today, I know that I am part of the equation. I do matter. People care. God has chosen me. Believing His truths and promises is the best antidote to the temptation to despair.

Today, I want to persevere. I want to shine together with the great cloud of witnesses.

God is good.

Fingers Crossed

I am sitting, waiting, wishing for Reach to Teach Recruiting to get back with me after my preliminary interview on Sunday evening. Granted, that was technically Monday morning for them and they did say a couple of days. But now it's pushing 4 days since we spoke. I hope they haven't forgotten about me. At the same time, I wouldn't be able to set up an interview with EPIK (English Program in Korea) just yet because I haven't gotten my letters of recommendation yet. I have requested 2 but haven't heard back about them yet either.

So I'm waiting and waiting. What to do in the mean time? I'm trying to think of others that might be able to write a recommendation letter for me. I think I need to work on trusting God, that he is sovereign and in control of all these details. Still, I don't want to leave any rocks uncovered. I think mostly I don't want to get my hopes up again only to have them crushed. I'm not sure I could handle that very well.

My Love Affair with Abandoned Places

I've recently discovered that two sites of abandoned, decayed buildings have been or will soon be torn down. I had the most delicious time photographing these places and wandering about their premises. The first was an old boarding house on West Main St. in Salem, Virginia. It was demolished soon after I found it. The second, one of the best finds I have stumbled across yet, is also being torn down. I'm talking about the old burnt up, falling apart Skyline Parkway Motor Court in Waynesboro, Va. I understand these buildings are dangerous and eyesores, but that doesn't stop me from feeling that somehow this is a tragedy. I am glad that I was fortunate enough to catch these places before they were lost in oblivion. I know a lot of these places are well known by other photographers who have an equal penchant for this particular delicacy and have probably been captured for posterity. But I still feel quite an obligation to do my part in routing out these places and exploring them! For one, the old Mountain View Manor I stumbled across in Middleburgh, NY doesn't seem to have been captured and shared on the internet before. I'm sure real estate folks, or attorneys and government officials may have taken pictures for records sake, but it is highly unlikely those will surface for public enjoyment. That is why I am particularly pleased that I was given this gem of a place to briefly explore out of the blue over the summer. I hope to keep finding places like these in the future.

Here's the recently demolished house in Salem.


View from inside the Skyline Parkway Motor Court


Mountain View Manor


Thanks for reading friend! If you want to see more of my pictures, you can check out my photostream in the flickr box on the right.