United Baptist Church of Ellsworth

In the distance, gulls vie for bait as they circle a lobsterman pulling his traps. In the foreground a party boat carries its passengers to a picnic. The photo captures a moment where markedly different lifestyles briefly intersect. An unnoticed man is toiling at back breaking work in a smelly old lobster boat as others are chatting and photographing each other while enjoying a leisurely ride in an almost identical but “spruced up,” private launch.

We were created as sensual beings with the capability and expectation that we should know the pleasures of our world. Experiencing pleasure comes in varied ways and forms: tastes, colors, styles, textures, books, art, recreation, music, ideas, and relationships. We have preferences but also enjoy others’ achievements and successes. We admire accomplishments, fulfilled aspirations, achieved goals, realized dreams no matter how small or grand. It might be a freshly baked cake, a newly mowed and manicured lawn, an artistic accomplishment, a negotiated deal, an ingenious idea, or just catching a lobster! We celebrate each other’s “pulled up by the boot strap” stories, victories over adversity and addictions, recoveries and wholeness after abuse, and resilience after suffering. Our pleasure may be felt with a simple self congratulation or by a widespread, shared, exuberant joy. Properly experienced and expressed it becomes a manifestation of godliness.

Whether by some personal, habitual imperative or by an impulse, it is wash day! Despite the fog, the laundry is clean and hanging out in fresh, soggy, salty air. Maybe optimism or urgency will force the sun to shine? But sun or no sun, the wash is done!

A photos captures a second and holds it still forever. It is a glimpse of an unfinished story without words or plot. The “because”, the “why” are left to our imagination.

Experiencing life often seems like living within weather patterns. Our joy, our moments of contentment and security are caught between the abrupt and distressing, between storms and mysteries. We are vulnerable to relentless change, some of which is expected and good but frequently is surprising and unpleasant. We seek stability and look for excitement and adventure only when we want it. However, what happens is often not our choice because it turns dark and painful or mysterious. And when we look for meaning but hear and see only silence and emptiness, our default positions are hopelessness or “faith.”