Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, June 3, 2023
A couple of weeks ago on a morning walk in our neighborhood, I glanced down a side street and spotted this companionable couple. The photo’s a bit fuzzy because I had to really zoom in on them. And because my camera is a smartphone, the colors might not be reproduced exactly the way my eyes saw them.
By studying this couple, can you tell why I titled this blog “The Clash”? As I say, the colors aren’t as distinctive as what my eyes saw, but the woman is wearing a pink top while the man’s t-shirt is tomato-soup red. During my youth, it was firmly drilled into my head that pink and red together “clash.” As I look at this photo now, I wonder whether I would really sense the clash if I hadn’t been so heavily indoctrinated.
I wonder whether this duo realized that they put on traditionally clashing colors that morning. I also wonder if they clash in other ways. They’re not holding hands, but if you’re to judge by my 45-year marriage to Shelley, neither of us feels compelled to clasp hands all the way through a walk. We’ll hold hands for a bit, then let go. This couple is also walking side by side—there’s not a “leader” and a “follower.”
In all likelihood, these two people are true friends. They’re comfortable in each other’s presence, and are able to walk several blocks without feeling the incessant need for conversation.
The Bible places a high value on friendship, as you’ll see by clicking the link just below: