Mary Anne Morgan Blog

Back to the Beginning

Posted on 25. Jan, 2012 by maryanne.

When I awoke this morning, the woods outside my kitchen window were sparkling, as if they had been showered in diamonds. My heart began to race. It’s been over a week now since I sent both of my camera bodies away to be repaired. After a solid year of shooting every day, I felt like I was in a drought. A kind friend loaned me a camera this week but when I picked it up, the battery was dead. While rummaging through my camera box  for another battery, I found my old Canon Rebel XT. A sight for sore eyes. I picked it up and it fit into my hand, like an old friend. I slipped on my green rain boots, neglecting to change out of my plaid flannel pajamas. I was a sight I am sure, purple and pink plaid with tall lime green boots, practically sprinting into the woods.

I knelt down trembling, hovering over the dewy earth. This was a visual feast, and I had been given a seat at the table. It was if God  himself was extending a personal invitation to me. “Come, eat.”  Hmmm, yes.

The morning sun met yesterday’s rain, still clinging to webs and blades of green. With my knees cold and wet, the briars tugging at my clothes and hair, I remembered. This is where it all began for me. This is where I first felt my heart beating nearly out of my chest. This is where I marveled at the glory, the detail, the splendor, in a whole new way. Every artist knows it well. That moment when you know you have to be part of something or you just might die. I knew then that I wanted to be part of capturing the glory. I wanted to put it in my pocket, saving it to show others and bring them along. “Look at this!” I want to say to everyone I meet. “Look at what creator God can do.” He spills out diamonds after the rain so we can remember that hope is always a morning away.

I sympathize with David, who danced in his ephod in front of everyone. He had to worship, discarding anything that might hold him back. His own wife thought he was mad. I wonder if I am too sometimes. Walking around the woods in my pajamas and rain boots is not a new thing for me. (okay, I do it a lot)  I often forget myself when I see the beauty through my lens. It is worship for me as well. I see the attributes of God through creation, and hear his voice when I am in this place of awe. I am also humbled by creation which often worships him much more appropriately than I do. Everywhere I look, I see nature pointing back toward him. This earth knows its maker, and longs for all to be made new. Flowers, trees, grass, they all strain upward into his light and warmth. I feel this resonating in me as I walk, crawl and climb to catch a glimpse of his glory through my lens. I too long to gather his robe in my hands, to see his glory passing by.

I do not think it is a coincidence that I found my XT today, a camera I previously would have thought useless to me. I see God’s provision more clearly now through simplicity, after going without my bigger cameras for awhile. I don’t always have to have everything I think I need. God alone is my source, and I am incredibly grateful that He reminded me of that today when He took me back to the beginning.

Psalm 136:4-9 ~ “Thank the miracle-working God, His love never quits. The God whose skill formed the cosmos, His love never quits. The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations, His love never quits. The God who filled the skies with light, His love never quits. The sun to watch over the day, His love never quits. Moon and stars as guardians of the night, His love never quits. ” (Message Version)

 

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365 Project Day 152: Symphony

Posted on 02. Jun, 2011 by maryanne.

Canon 5D Mark ll, 100 mm 2.8 macr0, 3.5 aperture, 1/125 shutter, 125 ISO

There, beneath all of my comings and goings, nestled deep in the green of the grass and the warmth of the earth, aloft sparkling drops of sprinkler-rain. There, curling, ascending, around my barefooted toes. There plays a symphony of color, light, glory. Veritable prisms of songs inaudible to the human ear. Water beads into drops and gathers on the tips of  lifted arms. Light streams through and I am undone. It is the worship that the earth sings back to the Father. Reflections of His glory, springing up from the ground we tread upon. If I had not looked, I would not have seen it, the majesty that lies in the most hidden places. I see Him there, and I join in the song of the earth.

Yes, I will sing too.

Psalm 65:8 ~ “The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.”

Revelation 21:11 ~ “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”

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Post Rain Glory

Posted on 29. Oct, 2009 by maryanne.

It rained here all day on Tuesday. I mean rained. It was a down kind of day and I felt in a fog myself, so blah and numb in my spirit. I worked processing  photos all day and went to bed just tired to my core. When I awoke yesterday, it was as if someone had turned on a light switch. I walked outside as the sun was just coming through the trees and could hear the previous day’s rain dripping from the trees. It was like grief was dripping off the leaves to reveal the brilliance of light and hope. There is something so magical that happens when water and light meet.  I immediately put on my boots, grabbed my camera and two lenses, and headed down to the back pasture. It was like coming home. This is how I  spent so many of my mornings in my early journey with photography, talking to God and capturing His glory, as best I could, with my camera. I could feel my spirit breathing and my heart enlarging as I talked with my Creator, telling Him how much I loved  the goodness of His creation. He is so unique in how He does things. Amazing how many minute details show up early in the morning as the dew is still clinging to them. Even the little spider webs were visible. Our God is such a God of details.

Yeah, like coming home. It reminds me of this scripture ” weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” ~Psalm 30:5

I hope you enjoy the bits of glory that I was able to capture~

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