Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, June 29, 2025

Remember the early months of the global pandemic, when we were closed off from so much that we enjoyed, including churches, libraries, stores, each other’s homes?

We tried to make the best of it, both inside and outside our homes. Our neighborhood sidewalks became the canvas for artists of all ages. There’s not much I miss about those anxious days and months, but I did appreciate the hand-drawn games, messages of encouragement, and colorful drawings.

So last week I was pleased to come upon this hopscotch game when we rounded a corner on our morning walk. It was even longer than what you see in my photo, because I zoomed in to be sure you could read the word lettered partway through the hopscotch: “FINISH.”

The placement of this word seemed odd, occurring about halfway through the hopscotch. The word said, “FINISH,” but the game stretched out on either side of it.

As we walked on, my thoughts took off in two directions. My first thought was that it can be disappointing, even disheartening, to think you’ve reached the finish line, only to discover there’s more road ahead. That can happen on a hike, when you think you’re approaching the summit, only to discover there’s a valley between you and the actual peak.

That can also be true in tough seasons of life. Maybe you think you’ve conquered a bad habit, only to have it reappear. Or you’ve grieved long over a loss, and think you’re “better now,” only to be blindsided by some small incident or memory that triggers fresh grief.

But my second thought about that mid-game “FINISH” took off in a more positive direction. I remembered a quote that is attributed to Gracie Allen: “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.”

Think about some of the people we read about in the Bible, like Peter. Jesus was facing false accusations, cruel abuse, and crucifixion, and was in great need of the encouragement and love of His friends. Peter vehemently denied, three times, that he even knew his best friend.

But then Peter’s eyes met the eyes of Jesus, and his heart was broken over his betrayal. He rushed from the courtyard to a solitary place to sob out tears of repentance. He must have thought his life was as good as over; certainly his life as a disciple of Jesus was finished.

But God in His grace placed a comma in Peter’s life, not a period.

And Job! His story begins on a promising note:

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. (Job 1:1 NKJV)

He had lived a life of integrity before God, so why did his life collapse in calamity and tragedy? In his great suffering and loss, he pours out his anguish in torrents of words.

Covered head to foot in painful boils, sitting in ashes, mourning the loss of all his children, Job certainly felt an inexplicable, cruel period had been placed in his life. But God had a comma in His hand.

Finally, in the last chapters of the book of Job, God speaks to him, challenging him with question after question after question. Job responds with humility, and God restores; “the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.” (Job 42:12)

Mary and Martha were sisters who loved Jesus and, with their brother Lazarus, often offered him a place of peace and hospitality. When Lazarus becomes critically ill, they send for their friend, knowing His love for their brother, and His ability to heal with a word or a touch.

But He doesn’t come. Lazarus dies. Period.

And then He does arrive, and calls Lazarus back to life! Comma!

I can think of many other people in the Bible who thought they read the word “FINISH,” only to discover God had written other plans for them.

How about you and me? I can think of more than once in my life when I thought God had placed a period, and I was heartbroken. Weathering tough, unexpected transitions, how we need to see a comma brightly shining in God’s hand, for us.

Today is one year since my sister Julie died, three time zones away from me. We who loved her experienced her death as a period. With heavy hearts, we grieved. But we also know that God has placed a comma in the lives of those who love Him, and who trust in the rock-solid truth of resurrection.

When the Lord returns, all punctuation turns to exclamation marks!

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” (Revelation 21:3-5)

Come, Lord Jesus, come!!!

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday and Sabbath, June 27 and 28, 2025

This past Sunday I was part of a crew transforming Auburn (WA) Adventist Academy from a week-long camp meeting back into a boarding secondary school. My role in this adventure was to carry maybe a hundred tiny wooden chairs out of a classroom which had housed a score or two of “Beginners” kids ages 0 to 4, for whom I had played the piano.

Before we crew members squared our shoulders and headed out to accomplish our tasks, we ate breakfast in the academy cafeteria. On little stacks in the food line we discovered these napkins, rescued using the best “save the planet” instincts, from a supply of Alaska Airlines materials which the airline no longer needed.

As I gazed at this little masked family, my mind went back to those first uncertain months of the pandemic. We closed our church down, and for several months I preached in our sanctuary, empty except for a YouTube camera and two incredibly faithful audio-visual experts. Some of those Sabbaths were mournful ones. Though I and the AV team (and everyone else who sent us video clips with children’s stories, music, and other features) tried to keep a valiantly positive attitude, we just didn’t know for sure when we could get back to normal.

But we got through it. And though the daily news presents us with puzzling and equilibrium-jolting reminders that things are not normal on this planet, we know that God finally bring His kingdom back here.

The following link leads you to a huge number of God’s promises which can assure you that He really cares.

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/bible-promises

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, June 26, 2025

This deer kept me company as I glanced out the window once in a while during my workday. It got me wondering about the life of a deer and how it might parallel our lives. For example, it isn’t always peaceful for this deer. If it happens to wander over to the next property and the owner is outside, it might get yelled at and chased away. Sometimes the neighbor blows an air horn to chase the deer from his lawn. It is a little comical to listen to, but I am glad the deer has a peaceful place to retreat to.

Just like the deer doesn’t rest here forever, we also have to go out into the world. But something else caught my eye in this picture. An old clothesline pole looks a lot like a cross. Whenever we encounter negativity and unpleasantness in the world, we can remember that God has a plan for us. Through Jesus we can always have peace knowing that he gave everything for us.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Have you ever looked at a foxglove plant (seen here) and thought about how toxic it is, and at the same time, thought how beautiful it is? If you weren’t aware, this flowering plant from the genus Digitalis is very toxic to humans and mammals. Ironically, it also has medicinal uses.

To me, it’s symbolic of our current home – Earth — and God’s love. Let me explain. As we all know, this planet is sinful and extremely toxic. Yet, there is still beauty. There is still goodness. That beauty and goodness is only because of God’s love for us. He doesn’t see our sinful nature and turn against us, on the contrary, He gets closer to us – allowing His love and the sacrifice of Jesus to heal us, from the poison we have ingested.

As Paul states in Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

Do you see what’s happening? Even though we are sinners, He loves us. And with that love, we are saved.

A beautiful blooming foxglove, with its bright colors, unique shape and patterns – deadly in some ways, but life saving in another. I’m so thankful to have God’s love, provided to us, in order to save us from the sins of this world. And while we are “stuck” here, God continues to give us beauty, reminding us of who is ultimately in control.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, June 24, 2025

When most people think of a cormorant they conjure up an image of a black sea bird. And such a generalization is certainly understandable. Even the name cormorant is an English corruption of corvus marinus, meaning sea-crow. Of the roughly 40 species found across the globe, five can be seen on our own West Coast. Brandt’s Cormorant is one of these. There it can be found along the shoreline reaching from Alaska to Mexico, but it essentially never wanders inland.

Both pelicans and cormorants are part of the order Pelecaniformes and both have gular pouches which allow them to swallow fish. These pouches are much more apparent in the pelicans, but they serve a similar function in cormorants. It’s during the breeding season that these pouches become most apparent. In the Brandt’s Cormorant the throat pouch becomes a brilliant blue bordered by a band of pale buffy feathers. Display of this pouch is part of the courtship routine in much the same way the Blue-footed Booby displays its colorful feet.

Here in the cormorant’s pouch we see the tension between function and appearance played out. The tension comes into play in the human arena where we are susceptible to misusing one of these. God instructs Moses: ““Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor.” (Exodus 28:2 NIV) But the verse we’re more likely to quote is 1 Peter 3:3 “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.” (NIV) Our error comes from failing to give the right emphasis which comes from the following verse. “Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (vs 4 NIV) The cormorant got it right, a right balance between function and appearance.

Photo ©2009 and Commentary ©2025 by Chuck Davis
Monday, June 23, 2025

I selected the image for this week’s photo parable because of the significant changes that I just made to it. I was captivated by the scene, a large bear grass bloom, Summit Lake, and a fallen snag all acting as supporting cast to Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately, I could not compose the shot without including major distractions. There was a large standing snag on the left side and tree branches poking into the scene on the right. I snapped the shutter anyway and then forgot it.

Recently, I have been thinking about all the things that get in the way of my time with Jesus. Satan is an expert at distracting us, and we allow a host of trivial things to get in the way of the most important things.

For sixteen years, I avoided sharing this photo because of the horrible distractions along its edges. What would it be like if I removed the distractions? Five minutes in Adobe Photoshop gave me the answer. For today’s parable, the question then arises, “What would my relationship with Jesus be like if I gave it a few minutes time in God’s Holy Spirit Shop”? Like this photo, it would be worth sharing.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath and Sunday, June 21 and 22, 2025

A little after noon this past Sunday (Father’s Day, incidentally) I was strolling along a trail near our neighborhood, and noticed this sunny-yellow flag projecting above one of the backyard fences.

As you probably know, the “smiley face” burst onto the scene several decades ago. While it began as a symbol of irrepressible, chin-up positivity, in recent years it’s sometimes been used ironically, an emblem of giddy and unrealistic optimism.

But it seems as though the above flag-fliers want to project honest happiness, and by anchoring it to the fence in view of the trail-walkers, its owner want to project encouragement to every walker. It’s a nice thought.

But though a cheery yellow flag can’t guarantee true joy, nor give reason for it, at least four Bible verses can, and you’ll find them at the link just below, provided for us by the inspiration of our Heavenly Father:

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