Brent left a message for me this morning after they travelled back down out of the mountain villages in North Africa to the city. "It is truly, truly amazing being here" is how he phrased it. They have had opportunity to share the drama only a couple of times but to between 500-700 people. He says that they have been received well and that the Lord is truly working. They have had an excellent time of getting to know the people and says that their memorial service on the mountain where they spread BJ's ashes went well. There are some photographs to view at awestar.org, including one of the family together during the service.

One of the last chances I had to really visit with BJ was in the spring of '05 after I had returned from a month's "sabatical" in Stonington, Maine - or for me, as close to heaven as I have been geographically. He was looking through a compilation of photographs (I couldn't get enough) from my trip and true to form, he was much more interested in the people and the time I'd had in the village churches there than he was the scenery. It had been a wonderful trip, one in which I had expected to get lost in the scenery but found myself adopted by the people of the area and was blessed with wonderful fellowship there.

I shared one of my encounters there in which I was sharing a rocky ledge at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse with a very gracious professional photographer. We planted ourselves there to catch the lighthouse in the setting sun - I had arrived at the location first but he had set up at "the spot" to get the best shots. Fortunately he was willing to share his ledge. He carefully set up his box camera on its tripod, checked the light meter and waited for just the right moments to capture the glory unfolding in front of us. A few feet away I frantically fired off shot after shot afraid to miss even a moment. It wouldn't be much of an overstatement to say I fired a roll for each shot he took.

As I eventually drove away into the fading light I realized that what I had just experienced was representative of my life as it is and how it should be. Too often I am frantically moving about my day without really following a plan or appreciating its events. I imagine that this man not only got better photographs than I did but he also took the time to truly experience the sunset and its beauty. While I squinted through the viewfinder at what was laid out in front of me, framing and firing my shots, he calmly took in the bigger picture and left certain that he had finished his mission successfully.

I had seen the beauty and marvel of God's signature on another day, but had I really appreiciate it? had I truly experienced it?

Today try not to let the business of life get in the way of your actually experiencing the many things that fill it. We are surrounded by God's wonders but it is up to us to open our eyes and really see them.

Brad