God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Details

This is a view of Jordan Pond from the North Bubble in Acadia NP. The water stands out, but much of the beauty in the view lies in the surrounding details. You need to look a closely, but you can easily see the Jordan Pond House at the far end of the pond. Some of the other details that “stand out” to me include the carriage road (to the right), the leaves changing red, and the islands off in the distance. This is so much more than a picture of a water.

Beauty is often found in the small details. God provides a richness to our lives that must be noticed to be appreciated.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

The Heavens

This photo was taken in Panama, about 20 miles west of the Panama Canal. The Pacific Ocean can barely be seen in the distance. It was one of those days when the sky was hard to distinguish from the ocean. If there wasn’t a little piece of land sticking out, the sky and ocean would completely blend together.

We often talk about the sky as the heavens, as if that is where the spiritual world exists. But where
does the physical world end and the spiritual world begin? Seeing God in all things is the recognition that the spiritual and the physical are one.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Top of the World

While at Acadia, we spent most of a day hiking Cadillac Mountain. We went up the North Trail to the top. Every few minutes, we would stop, turn around, and look at the view of Bar Harbor and the coastline. This photo was taken at the top. Bar Harbor is just a small collection of white dots with 2 cruise ships.

Making this hike gave me a “Top of the world” feeling. You could also call it a mountaintop experience. I believe these experiences are a recognition of goodness. The goodness of God. Maybe we recognize the goodness in nature. Maybe the goodness in someone else, a stranger even. Or in ourself.

We want to remain in these moments, but that is not possible because life goes on. If you stay on top of the mountain, you’re going to get cold and hungry. And if you stay too focused on the last experience, you might miss the next one.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Everything

This is a photo from our recent flight into Panama City; the Panama Canal is in middle of photo. It really is an amazing feat of engineering. No less amazing (at least in my mind) is the story of how Yellow Fever was mostly eliminated from the Canal Zone through simple measures to control mosquitoes.

The Panamanians have an expression, “El Canal somos todos” which could be loosely translated as “The Canal is everything.” On this Easter, let us remember that Jesus is everything!

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Knowledge

This photo is a view of Sand Beach in Acadia, taken from the Beehive summit (we hiked up the back side). I find it striking to see this strip of sand between the ocean and a lagoon. Mount Desert Island, where most of Acadia is located, has mostly rocky shore. So this beach is doubly unusual. I tried to find out more information about why this beach exists the way it does, but couldn’t find much more than a comment about the fine sand existing due to the cove protecting the beach from strong waves.

These days, I’m more amazed when I can’t find the information I’m looking for than when I can. The news is filled with commentary about the potential use (or misuse) of AI. It seems the more we know, the more we know we don’t know.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Patience

This is a photo of the Bar Island Trail, part of the Acadia National Park. At least, this is the location of the trail, but it happens to be disappearing underwater at the moment. It is only accessible during low tide. Good luck if you cross over to the island and don’t return before the tide rises!

God always answers our prayers, but not always when we expect an answer. Doors open and close, but often only in hindsight (if ever) does the timing make sense. Faith and patience go hand in hand.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Light

This is the Egg Rock Light Station; the island named for the abundance of seabirds’ nests and eggs found there. The original Light Station was built in 1875. The current lantern house was built in 1986; there is also a separate fog station building which dates to 1904.

We are called to be light for the world. Light to provide guidance, sometimes in the form of warning. But always to show God’s love.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

The View

This is the Bass Harbor Head Light Station in Acadia NP. This famous view of the lighthouse is not easy to find. From one end of the parking lot, there is a paved path that leads directly to the base of the lighthouse. It is quite a way above the water with no path down. From the other end of the parking is a path through the trees that leads to water, but it is a little tricky walking on these rocks to get in view of the lighthouse.

Often, things of great value are difficult to obtain. Thankfully, God’s love is freely given!

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Opportunities

This is a photo taken at Thunder Hole in Acadia NP, looking out to the Gulf of Maine. There is a small breeze, but the surf is fairly calm. Which makes for a nice photo and is a nice thing if you are out in a small boat. Unfortunately, it also means that there was no “thunder” at Thunder Hole. We arrived a little before high tide which is when the noise should be the loudest. We did see some spray, but not much noise.

So I took a few pictures of the little inlet where the water sprays up, then turned and started taking photos of the birds and rocks and open water. Don’t miss a great opportunity because it’s not what you were hoping for.

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