The Past Restored

Earlier this week I was in a class at the local university. A few minutes before the class started the girl who was sitting in front of me booted her laptop and I noticed a scan of a very beat up image set as her wallpaper. I had met the girl a few times before in previous classes, so I leaned forward and told her if she emailed me the image I would see what I could do during class.

As I was editing it I started noticing all kinds of little details. For example it was torn in half at one point, but you may note from the rip that the left side was pulled forward. So I was thinking of how I tear my junk mail up and decided the person who tore it must be right handed. The tape holding it together hasn’t yet begun to discolor which indicates it couldn’t have been on there too long. However, the red marks on the image stop at the tape line indicating that they came after it was taped revealing that the image had some continued abuse. There were others observations concerning features of the scan, but I also noticed things in the image. The catch light in her eyes indicates a single high umbrella. This was a studio photo. The ¾ lighting also shows placement of the umbrella and the distance it was from the girl. I can also tell the lens and aperture the photographer used based on the distortion and depth of field. The cat has a scar on its nose indicating it is either a stray or probably lived outside. That is all just a start. There are hundreds of observations about this image which tell much of the story which surrounds it.

It made me think of all the things in the past which this photograph reveals. I asked her briefly about the image when I sent back the restored one. She said it was the only one she had from her childhood and the rest had been “destroyed”. It made me consider of all the other people around me in this class with all kinds of other stories. Happy and sad, love and horror, all mixed together in God’s sovereignty.

My response is threefold. First it reminded me that everyone around me has a different story and I need to be sensitive to that in order to learn how to love them. Second it made me thankful that God designed us in such a way as we only need to live one day at a time, the good and the bad will all pass. And third it made me reflect on so many ways God has worked things out in ways I could never have seen. I smile as I think of what He might have in store for the rest of my life.