Certain nostalgic emotion

There is this certain nostalgic emotion that creeps up every now and then, when a cool breeze lifts my hair, or when my kids bring me acorns and ask me to "pop the hats off of them," or when I'm walking in the shade and catch one small sliver of sunlight on my face. This emotion is quite inexplicable, and to be honest, one I rather loathe.  It all seems so lovely on the surface; those things listed above are a few of my absolute favorite things. They are also things that last only a second and then are gone, leaving me feeling achy- like I am grasping at straws.  I was in the middle of one such moment today when something struck me.  When we are resurrected to the New Earth, our deepest desires and cravings will be satisfied by intimate communion with the Son of God. We long for these manifestations of Christ's perfection, but the day will come when I will be in the presence of the creator of all of the beauties that constantly slip through my fingers. That day will be sooo glorious.

Two kids in a photograph.

I was hanging up a photo today, of two kids I had photographed whilst in Africa.  I paused for a moment to reflect on how unbelievably beautiful life is, and then realized something.  The two kids in the photograph mean nothing to me, apart from the gut-wrenchingly-nostalgic emotional reaction seeing them elicits.  I never had a relationship with them apart from the quick utterance of "sura? shukran," and I will never know what kind of men they will grow up to be, or even if they survive into manhood. To me, they really aren't people. They are subjects.  They are representations of an innate urge to capture as much of the world as I can and stuff it into little 4x6 boxes.  They are physical manifestations of my selfishness and all of humanity's inability to truly empathize within itself.  They are reminders of my sinful desire to puff up my own ego through admiration of my art. Most of all, though, they are proof of how vast this world is, how complex the human race, and how small my cognitive abilities.
I love this photograph. It is beautiful and I am proud of it. I am frightened and confused as to how some ink on a piece of paper provokes such a reaction within me, but I am amazed that God created us as such prodigiously complex beings who will never understand this earth from this earth.

Teresa

Last year I was working in Africa with a humanitarian organization, and I met Teresa. I came to school in North Carolina and ended up bumping into her at church. It's a tiny world, yet vast and mysterious.
Anyways, Teresa graduated from grad school this June, and since she didn't have any cap and gown photos from her prior two graduations, we did two very brief (like 10 minutes a piece) little sessions. (And yeah, it has taken me this long to edit them. Stop judging me now.) I wish she didn't have to return her gown, because I am now overflowing with ideas that feature that stunning face of hers.
Enjoy.

I don't know why I love this one so much, but I really, really do!

New (to me) Music

I've been spending some time the past few days unearthing some bands I had never heard of before. Here are a few:

Jay-Jay Pistolet

Mumford and Sons

Andrew Davie

I think you can probably guess what kind of music I'm into at the moment. I'm still researching lyrics, so don't judge me if some of them are bad. k? Thanks.