Mary Anne Morgan Blog

365 Project Day 219: Sunday Gifts

Posted on 08. Aug, 2011 by maryanne.

Canon 5D Mark ll, 16-35 2.8L, 4.5 aperture, focal length 16mm, 1/125 shutter, 200 ISO

I was down by the barn when I saw the storm rolling in. The horses’ manes were blowing softly in the breezes that come before a summer storm. I could see a bit of orange in the distance. I sensed a beautiful sunset was in the making. I hurried to find Chris as the first drops of rain began to fall. We jumped in the car and headed to the highest point we knew of in the area, the rain now blurring the windshield. ” The best sunsets come after a storm”, I told him. ” Sounds like a blog to me”,  he answered, smiling. Yes, it did. When we got to the top of the hill, the rain was already receding and the pavement steamed with relief. One side of the sky was blue with wispy clouds, the other still dark with streaks of lightning, threatening. It was beautiful, with so many opposing elements happening at once. The thunder, the birds singing, the lightning, the blue sky.

Then we turned around and saw it. A rainbow that stretched nearly across the sky. I have never photographed a rainbow before and wasn’t sure I could. I fumbled through my lenses, afraid it would disappear before I got the right one out. Other cars pulled off and neighbors we did not know tumbled out to gaze at the spectacle. It really was glorious.

We were all at once a community, caught up in the beauty. Our common ground was the glory of God, and we were instant friends. I love how beauty does that. God does that.

But the gifts kept coming.

As the rainbow faded, the sun began to make her bed in the horizon, casting her warm glow across the earth. The grass, the trees, the face of my husband, all now gleamed with light. I caught Chris’s hand, and breathed in the moment, warm and heavy with the scent of summer rain. Small raindrops began to fall again as we watched the sun setting in the distance. We were alone again. He pulled me close. I let my heart stretch and breathe as I received the gifts. They were falling like the rain that was lighting on our skin, soft and cool, bringing us back to the present with every drop. We talked about how we walked in the rain when our love was new, and nothing else seemed to matter.  He told me back then that  rain looked good on me. Still a great line. He can say it to me for the rest of our lives together if he wants, even if it isn’t raining.

How I loved these Sunday gifts. Captured a few of them to share.

James 1:17 ~ “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Have a wonderful Monday.

 

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365 Project Day 175: Storms Will Come

Posted on 25. Jun, 2011 by maryanne.

Canon 5D Mark ll, 16-35 2.8L, 16mm focal length, 5.6 aperture, 1/80 shutter, 100 ISO

Out of nowhere, the storm rushes in. The sky darkens with ominous clouds, and fierce winds humble the mightiest of trees. The old oak snaps behind the house and we feel the earth shudder beneath our feet as its branches fall to the ground. The sheer power of the storm induces a sense of awe. We say few words. We watch. Once again, we see we are not in control.

Is this the same God? The same One who, with tender strokes, streaked color across the sky just last night? Is He now the One who thunders in with swirls of wind and rain that cause fear and uncertainty?  Yes. He is the same God.

I try to remember this as I writhe under the pain of my own uncertainty. I will send two children to a faraway land in the early morning hours. My heart feels as though it may burst out of my body. It feels compressed, its contents under pressure, in this storm of my own. I am not in control. We mothers, we want to control things, to keep our children safe. It is God-given, after all, to protect our babies. It never goes away. But I know, yes I know, that I am not in control. And when I pray, when I think it through, when I finally sort it out with God, I am grateful that I am not. He, the great King, is all powerful. He the omnipresent Creator, can be with them on airplanes and dusty Guatemalan roads. He, the One who loves them more than I possibly could, He will be in control. The same power that rushes in with the dark clouds is at His command to use as He pleases. And the best part, the most wonderful part, is that He is good.

He is good, and He can be trusted.

And so I trade uncertainty for joy and expectation. I exchange worry for worship once again. And when I worship in the storm, it is like placing a candle in the window. A beacon of hope for others to follow. There I can find true rest, knowing He is in control, even in the storm.

Psalm 100:4,5 ~ “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

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Project Day 133: Storms

Posted on 14. May, 2011 by maryanne.

Canon 5D Mark ll, 24-70 2.8L, 13.0 aperture. 1/5 shutter, 100 ISO

When this storm came up today, I was relieved. It almost felt like the chaos that was brewing within me was getting out into the open. I stood under the swaying trees as their branches and leaves danced to the wind’s choreography. Up, to the side, circle back around again. They did not seem afraid, nor was I. I soaked it in. “Let the rain come”, I begged the Father. It was a hard day, and the storm was just what I needed to wash away the debris that stuck to my soul like old jam. I needed a cleansing of my palate.  Storms can do just that.

Fernando Ortega‘s song entitled “Storm” says it better than I ever could.

Sometimes it takes a storm
To really know the light
The scent of rain
The weight of clouds
Pulling down the sky
Sometimes it takes a storm
To know how you feel
To understand indigo
And the varnished sun
Lighting up the fields

It takes the rain between the lines to know what sorrow finds
The way a cloud divides sometimes
The clearing and the blue
I love you
I was just passing through
And taken by surprise
Between the black sky
And the blue
Between the black sky and the blue
I love you
I love you

Yes, grateful for the storms in life, too. They help us feel alive, and dependent on the One who holds the power to both create and calm them in His hands.

Psalm 107:29,30 ~ “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.”

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See there was this storm, and i have these kids…

Posted on 17. Jun, 2010 by maryanne.

It has been a week of have to’s. You know what I mean, doing all the things you have to do. I love my job, but I desire time and space to photograph and create just for fun, where there is no pressure. This is one of those moments. Shortly after a client left the house the other day, a storm blew up. A big one. I knew at the very least that I was going to to sit on the front porch and watch it blow in. I wanted the winds to blow all the way through my soul, and sweep away the stress of trying to get everything just right. I was headed that way when I saw my daughter Katie in the hallway. “Let’s go out and shoot in the storm!” I blurted out. Katie is such a good sport. She agreed, and out we went. Moments later,  Johnny was out there with us, holding the light and then getting in a couple himself. It felt so wonderful, out there with the wind, my camera,  my kids (and one Alien Bee 800 with a 30 degree grid spot). I will get Annie in on it next time.

So fun! Here are the results.

May you have a surprise storm in your life this week. The refreshing kind.

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