Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, May 24, 2026

What do you think this says – NOW or MON?

We came across these letters on our morning walk last week. A big variety of heavy equipment and trucks have taken over our neighborhood lately, rumbling through the streets, loudly working on a massive water pipe replacement project for many blocks around.

Before they started breaking up the asphalt, workers came through the neighborhood on a quiet mission, marking the streets and front yards with yellow, blue, green, and orange letters and symbols. We know some of these identify gas lines, but the majority of the signage is a foreign language to us.

Except the word you see in the photo! That looks like plain English, except I’m not sure which English word it is!

We saw these letters last Sunday, so maybe they spell the word MON, meaning, “This marks the spot where we start work on Monday.” But that seems a bit odd. So does the word NOW. Maybe these are initials that stand for something only water pipe replacement people can decipher.

I realize I’ll probably never know what these letters signify. I also realize that it doesn’t matter. I need to be content that those who need to know will get the message, and the world can continue reliably rotating on its axis without me needing to know.

I’m curious, though.

Since I recently read the last chapters of the gospel of John, I thought of someone else who was curious, and expressed a need to know. Peter responded to Jesus taking him aside for a walk in which He told Peter about his future by asking,

“Lord, what about him [John]?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” (John 21:21-22 NIV)

Peter didn’t need to know John’s future. Jesus made that clear, and also emphasized where Peter needed to direct his attention.

And then, during another post-Resurrection gathering:

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts1:4-8)

They didn’t need to know times or dates. They did need to hear the incredible news that they were about to receive Holy Spirit power!

And now we come to Exhibit A for a curious person who didn’t have a need to know. She had everything she needed, and more. Eve lived in Eden, in Paradise. God walked and talked with her and her husband Adam.

Eve lacked nothing . . . but she could be persuaded that she did:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. (Genesis 3:1-6a)

Staring at three letters and wanting to know if they spell MON or NOW is a harmless curiosity on my part, but staring into a serpent’s eyes and wondering if he’s right about God keeping something good from her was a deadly curiosity on Eve’s part.

Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. (Genesis 3:20)

And yet, her distrust of God’s words and motives brought all the dying.

I wonder about things. I like to ask questions. I want to know the rest of the story. That’s true for me as I move through my day, and that’s true for me as I read through my Bible. And in life and in God’s Word, there’s much to wonder about.

I think God is fine with my wondering, but I don’t want it to wander into distrusting. There’s a line there, and I want to stay on this side of it.

As we walk out into a brand-new week, may we grow deeper in our trust of the One who walks with us, and waits for us.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, May 23, 2026

Earlier this month on a walk, Shelley and I noticed this bush of flowers. With a clueless layman’s confidence, I’ve decided they’re roses, but they may not be. So don’t quote me.

However, what caught my attention was that on this one bush there were flowers in varying stages of growth. At the top is what looks like an almost-mature bloom, while the buds further down are either getting close to “popping” or quite a ways behind.

Okay. Which of these are the true roses (if roses are what they are), and which aren’t? You know the answer, right? They’re all the same flower, just in different stages of development.

As a farm boy, I watched fuzzy yellow baby chicks grow into white-feathered chickens. Again, all were “perfect” at whatever stage they were at.

The Bible gives tremendous encouragement to those of us who long to mature spiritually. Click the link below for three verses which should build confidence:

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/maturity

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, May 22, 2026

A couple of weeks ago I stopped at one of those gas stations which only has a small building basically big enough for the attendant. But at this point the attendant was gone, and a sign said he or she would be back in 10 minutes.

While I was waiting, I noticed this strip of warning messages taped to the inside of the window. Reading from left to right, the first message is a plea for civility. The second message tries to dampen the hopes of those who think they can acquire some cash. The third message threatens retribution to criminals, the fourth repeats the warning that only a tiny amount of cash is available, and the fifth insists that Someone Is Watching You.

As I stood there waiting, glancing uneasily around from time to time, I was thinking how sad it was that these messages even had to be posted. But God has had to post – and carve into stone, and repeat – similar warnings.

Do you feel a bit restless knowing that God has laws He wants followed? The more you learn about His law, the more you understand that it not only safeguards the culture but is truly an expression of His love.

Want an encouraging refresher course on this topic? Click the link just below:

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/law-god

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, May 21, 2026

This flowering tree caught my attention in the church parking because of the pink petals on the ground. Looking up, this amazing view met my eyes and then my phone’s camera sensor. Once again, the landscape planners knew what they were doing when they selected these trees to plant in a row.

It is always fun to spot flowers where a backlight is shining through. In this case, it reminded me of an article in the May 9, 2026 issue of New Scientist titled “Quantum Crystals.” In the 1970’s, explorers found some crystals in a cave near Anarak, Iran where light reflected as a bluish-green glow. After the initial excitement of finding a new mineral, the crystals were set aside.  Recently scientists have been analyzing them for their special quantum properties which I don’t really understand. The hope is that it will lead to better quantum computers.

As the creator, God intricately knows the properties of light and how it interacts with matter. Just look at the flowers around us this spring.  I believe they inspire a healthy dose of wonder and discovery in learning about the natural reality where we live.

Considering that God fully understands physical light, we can look at his teaching as light for interacting with others that he also fully understands. John 1:4 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” Let’s admit we don’t understand nature, or God’s teaching about love, but we can keep digging for more knowledge.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, May 20, 2026

A few days ago, I was in our garden planting some recent additions when I glanced up at the sky. What I saw was stunning – no filters, no edits. Just a vivid display of color and contrast. The deep blue stretched endlessly, interrupted by a passing cloud – bright white at its edges, yet layered with darker shades of gray beneath. The details almost looked like something underwater, like a wave cresting and churning as it moves.

In that single moment, the sky felt like a canvas—alive with motion, texture, and intention. It was a glimpse of our Creator’s artistry on full display.

David captures this so well in Psalm 19:1:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”

How true that is, not just then, but now. The same sky David looked upon continues to speak, continues to proclaim. Every cloud formation, every shift in light, every hue of blue carries the signature of the One who made it.

Just like an artist carefully places each brushstroke on a canvas, God paints the sky with purpose — blending colors, shaping depth, and creating movement. And yet, how often do we miss it?

It only took a brief pause, one glance upward, to be reminded that His glory surrounds us daily, quietly declaring itself in even the most ordinary moments.

The next time you have an opportunity to gaze at the clouds or the stars, remember the Artist who created these incredible views for each one of us.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Think back to a time when air travel was different than today.  Maybe you can remember when we got dressed up to take a flight.  Somehow suit and tie seemed necessary to board an airplane.  And it seemed almost necessary to complain about airline food, but at least there was food back then.  Now, we’re lucky if we get pretzels (and of course no peanuts due to severe allergies).  Yes, things have change.  Still, some things have fortunately remained the same.  We still have confidence that the pilot and navigator will get us to our desired destination.

Long before we were traveling to Grandmother’s house by air, birds were taking extended flights to places many of us have yet to visit.  One of those that makes the longest migrations of any North American bird is the White-rumped Sandpiper.  It nests in Arctic Canada and winters in the southern portion of South America.  Its fall migration takes it over the Atlantic Ocean, where its flight gradually moves southeastward to take it along the coast before crossing the Amazon basin.  This extended flight takes about a month to complete.  In spring its flight north follows a similar pattern except it does so more quickly employing a fast series of long flights.  One of these can be as long as 2,600 miles without stopping!  Perhaps it is done this way to accommodate the short Arctic summer since its migration starts later than many species.

Long before humans employed this kind of travel and long distance journeys were done by sea, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow understood the importance of correct navigation to reach one’s destination.  He used poetic words to transfer this temporal experience to the spiritual reality each of us must take.  In this way he observed:  “Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reckoning — an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea by measuring the distance we have run, but without any observation of the heavenly bodies.”

Photo ©2011 and Commentary ©2026 by Chuck Davis
Monday, May 18, 2026

In last week’s photo parable, entitled “Lord of the Sabbath,” I mentioned that when looking to the west, I could see the top of Mt. St. Helens. The colorful beauty of today’s photo reminds me that the terrible destruction that occurred on May 18, 1980, is not the end of God’s story. On that day, Mt. St. Helens lost more than 1,300 feet of its summit cone. Fifty-seven people lost their life in the event. Humanity’s sin has brought us face to face with its consequences. But, one day, God will bring renewal. Today’s photo cannot capture even a portion of what He holds in store for us.

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV).

 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5 NIV).

Over the past year, photography and my love of the wilderness have allowed me to share just a glimpse of what God wants us to experience. I pray that you and I will be ready for the rest of His story.