Daily Photo Parable

Photo ©2003 and Commentary ©2026 by Chuck Davis
Monday, October 5, 2026

(From Maylan: Welcome back to Chuck Davis! As you’ll read below, Chuck took a break from doing our Monday Photo Parables, but now he’s returned!)

In my last post, I told you I was “Taking a Break.” I had hoped to hike 966 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail from the Siskiyou Summit in southern Oregon to Lone Pine, California with my brother Buzz. That goal turned out to be too ambitious for two men whose hearts and minds were willing, but whose bodies did not agree.

By the third day, Buzz’s left knee was complaining, especially on the downhill stretches. Our speed dropped from 2-1/2 miles per hour to around a mile per hour. The trail from Callahan’s Lodge to Seiad Valley was in rough shape having sustained wildfires over the past few seasons. Miles of the trail were barely visible due to burned trees that had fallen and the chapparal that had overgrown the trail.

On our last day, we were about 5 miles from Seiad Valley, when a pinched nerve in my lower back caused my left leg to lose all control and I fell off the trail on a steep slope. I tumbled heels over head about three times before I was able to stop. After crawling back to the trail, we continued – finally making it to our planned destination in Seiad Valley.

The following day, I was barely able to walk. With Buzz’s knee and my level of low-back pain, we made the decision to leave the trail.

Today’s photo, captured in 2003 along the PCT near Glacier Peak recalls this verse:

Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep. (Psalm 36:5–6, KJV).

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, October 4, 2026

My husband saw it first, a big black spider climbing upward. But it’s what we didn’t see that delighted me. Looking from one angle and then another, we couldn’t see a spiderweb or any trace of silken threads the spider was using to scramble up in the air. He was seemingly unattached to anything.

I remembered another spider I spied, long ago, who accomplished the same magic trick of moving steadily up without any help we could see, and my words then came back to me now as I admired this new spider: “He’s climbing without any visible means of support!”

And so are we.

Not by magic, but by miracle do we live. I love the reassurance in Lamentations 3:22-23 that the Lord’s mercies and compassions are new every morning, a fresh supply of support for us.

We can press on, like Moses, if we see as he saw:

By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. (Hebrew 11:27 NIV)

Although there is much that can weigh us down, and cause us to be fainthearted, Paul shows us how to fix our focus:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

And yet God gave us Jesus, to walk and talk and heal and preach and live among us – Son of Man as well as Son of God – so we could see Him who is invisible:

For he [God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The Son is the image of the invisible God . . . (Colossians 1:13-15a)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14;6-9 NIV)

We don’t have to wonder what God is like; we don’t have to fear Him. Watch Jesus as He moves through this world, and know that you are seeing God the Father’s heart in action, loving the world through Jesus.

One of these days, the Day will finally come, when we will see Him face to Face. Until then, “we live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) We rejoice in the solid truth of the invisible.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, October 3, 2026

A few weeks ago, across the street from the Hobby Lobby store near the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, I noticed this vacant commercial building. The real estate people have mounted this enticing sign, urging entrepreneurs to check it out.

I like that sign. Too many times, I think, our decidedly non-Edenic world feels so foreign to those of us who’ve discovered the fact of a happy eternity somewhere else that we start frantically humming, “I’m but a stranger here, heaven is my home. Earth’s but a desert drear, heaven is my home.”

Down through the centuries, a few devout Christians have sought refuge in hermits’ caves or monasteries, but this was never Jesus’ plan. He sent His disciples to the four metaphorical corners of the earth, with the implied message that wherever they landed, they belonged there.

You can find more verses which express heaven’s insistence that this is true. Check out the link below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, October 2, 2026

Every October Shelley and I are curious to see what our neighbors far and near will put up for Halloween. This may very well be bare-faced hypocrisy on our part, because we ourselves are not decoration-putter-uppers (never having had kids). But we do enjoy speculating about what will sprout up on the lawns around us. From past years we often remember which display which neighbor erected, and in one sad situation we have seen a large house which its owner decorated for as many holidays as possible (Halloween, Christmas, Easter). But suddenly the decorations ceased. We think the owner died, and the house may have been sold to a less demonstrative family.

And gradually this year, the spooky décor is once more emerging, with some creative twists. Wednesday of this week I saw for the first time the above skeletal display. What was so charming was that these two skeletons aren’t leaping out at you trying to scare you. Instead, they’re reclining at leisure on a couple of rocking chairs, and the erectors have positioned their arms and hands as though they’re gesturing their way through a friendly conversation.

With the “fright-feature” removed, I found myself focusing on the structures. I don’t often think of it, but beneath our clothing and skin, we are superbly-designed structures, able to move at will, or just pause and rest. We are wonderfully made.

And as owners of our personal mobility machines, we need to take care of them, just as my Toyota is due next week for its 110,000 mile service.

And our Creator has provided us a detailed owners’ manual for our bodies and minds – the Bible. Check out some vital care tips at the link below.

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

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, October 1, 2026

This steam train operating out of Elbe, Washington used to haul large loads of timber.  Now it offers a nice scenic ride.

The way steam can transfer power from the boiler area to the pistons is kind of amazing. But it is not just the steam. It takes a crew of dedicated people to keep it serviced and running.

The following verses give some ideas into how people can function in a healthy way.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
Philippians 1:9,10

Combining the concept of love with knowledge and insight makes a lot of sense. When we think about what makes people tick, we might think about these verses.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, September 30, 2026

While visiting Yosemite National Park, I came across this unusual scene. At first glance, it seems a bit out of place, but for me, it serves as a powerful reminder.

A reminder of what?

That our Creator is present in the very nature He created, and that He is always ready to hear from us.

This telephone, standing in the middle of a forest as if waiting for someone to put it to use, immediately captured my attention. I couldn’t help but picture myself strolling among the beautifully designed trees, carrying on a conversation with God.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Nature is God’s second book.” There is truth in that. God reveals Himself not only through His written Word, but also through the beauty, complexity, and wonder of His creation. Every mountain, tree, flower, and bird tells part of His story.

The next time you find yourself wandering through a garden, walking along the beach, searching for birds, or simply sitting quietly in your own backyard, consider giving God a “call.” Take a moment to thank Him for His blessings, His presence, and the incredible world He has placed around us.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Age had taken its toll, but it still retained its somewhat youthful appearance in spite of a few scratches and blemishes acquired over time.  Surprisingly, no bullet holes punctured its physique as is common in signs in quasi remote areas.  Perhaps it was due to the fact that passersby had no interest in drawing undue attention to their presence there.  Posted along a gravel road that with each additional mile seemed less and less worthy of being called a road, the sign had been undoubtedly placed there for the benefit of innocent explorers in search of rare birds or solitude that comes with an absence of population.

Its proximity to the Mexican border was reinforced by an occupant of an old truck whose driver informed us that if we would climb to the top of the peak we could see Mexico and macaws flying about.  We assumed their geography was correct, if not their avian observations. Still, its remoteness and closeness to the border did seem like an ideal avenue for illegal activity.

And yet the setting provides us with a paradox.  Is it likely more crimes were committed on this out-of-the-way path than on the crowded streets of the densely populated city near home?  Unlikely.  And yet I’ve never yet seen a sign posted along any of our well-traveled avenues warning me of impending danger.

We should remember that signs have meaning for us only as long as we give them notice.  It is altogether possible that if someone drove this stretch of lonely road every day they would become insensitive to its message. Isn’t it possible that this was the reason for Jesus’ response to the Pharisees when they asked for a miracle, that they really didn’t want an answer, they just wanted an excuse?  “He sighed deeply and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign?  Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.’”  (Mark 8:12 NIV)  In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey makes this observation: “A sign is not the same thing as proof; a sign is merely a marker for someone who is looking in the right direction.”