Sunday, August 3, 2008

tenacity

Well, I've had a great couple of weeks away from work and other concerns. I just returned from a week on the north shore of Lake Superior with no internet access. It's always interesting to notice what a slave I have become to electronic devices. We didn't even have cell phone reception most of the time. For the first couple of days I was pretty anxious about that, but after a while I settled into the freedom of becoming "untethered".

I spent a lot of time hiking through thick forests and down into deep gorges where rivers have carved out a path to the shores of Superior. The good news is, my camera was repaired in time to take along, so I have images to share with you. For now I just want to give you a peek into something that has always fascinated me. Whenever you bump up against nature in an intentional way, you discover this amazing tenacity. Things grow in the most unlikely of places. Lichens clinging to bare rock and tender little wild flowers springing up out of the face of a sheer cliff. These images are comforting to me somehow. They give me courage.

So here are some of my favorite images along these lines. I'll share more later...



24 comments:

  1. Terri You're back!! I like the title of this blog, tenacity. I like that word. Man that place is gorgeous. You and kirsten have this magic you do with a camera. Those photo's are beautiful. Nathan had one of your pictures on his computer screen for a while, and one of Kirsten's too.

    I bet it was nice to go away without any interference from technology. I mean it would be tough at first but, no phone. Yee Haw! I wish i could move to a deserted island sometimes.

    I would seriously consider it. I have the damnedest luck. i would pick some privately owned island and a rich smartass would have me arrested. I would get thrown under the jail in a foreign country and be a forced sex slave and be made to eat rice the rest of my life..........now what were we talking about? Oh yeah vacations and peaceful get aways. I know there is such a public outcry for optimism.

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  2. Awww . . . you two are so CUTE! :)

    So glad you got this time away. Kirk and I, too, would feel our stress unload off our shoulders if we completely unplugged from the world and its frenetic movement for a while. Makes me think of our honeymoon, when it was just us and the roads and sights of Ireland for two weeks.

    My favorite picture (besides the cute one of you two at the end) is the one of the white dandelions poking valiantly out of the tree bark. Beautiful!

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  3. I really like the theme of this post. The pictures are right on point! Life finds a way I suppose. There is so much for me to learn from this. I think God used you and your pictures to speak to me today.

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  4. terri, this place does seem other-worldly. there is something fierce about the beauty that you show & you describe: a beauty that persists in seemingly impossible places.

    hmmm ...

    i'm so glad you had this time, that you were able to unplug & unwind. thank you for being there for me today, it was great to hear your voice. and please tell dave that i'm sorry i confused him for your son (i don't think all synapses are firing in my head right now!!) :o)

    love you,
    k

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  5. More! More! More! I love those pics!
    Yes, once I get over the fact that it's okay that the blogging world continues without me, I enjoy my untethered time.

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  6. Yay...Terri's back. There IS something inspiring about that sort of growth, isn't there? I came back from my own vacation with several similar pictures.

    I know what you mean about technology, too. I'm soooo connected because of work--sometimes I wish I could snip the line and be free!!

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  7. awww...SWEET...you two are something else! Hey, wait a minute...get a room!

    And those pics T...why do you drag me around when you have your own gift? BEAUTIFUL and meaningful!

    love you T,
    mia

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  8. tammy: yes, i'm back...and i'm paying the price for being gone for two weeks in a row. i'm glad you enjoyed the photos. if i hear of a deserted island, i'll let you know. that sounds pretty good to me sometimes too.

    christianne: i like that picture too. when we sat down in the little garden behind the restaurant and saw these daisies staking out their territory i felt like they were my friends.

    nate: wow, i would love to think that this ministered to you so deeply. i'd love to hear more if you want to share sometime. we should catch up.

    kirsten: no need to apologize...i should have told you who I was handing the phone to. and speaking of beauty that persists in seemingly impossible places...how do you do that? love you.

    heather: more soon...

    di: so do you.

    sarah: i'd love to see your pictures.

    marcia: don't kid yourself...your pics make mine look sickly. but thanks for the compliment. i'm blushing.

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  9. like you...always coming back more radiant than before! Love you so much. Wish I could give you a hug! xx

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  10. Wow! The indomitable spirit of love.

    Blessings to you and yours my friend,

    M

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  11. Love the flowers in the rocks! We don't need much to bloom!! Glad you had a good time.

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  12. passing by once again to say hello Terri...and hugs

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  13. love the pics and the words/thoughts behind them, am looking forward to seeing more.

    Good to hear you have had a nice time away... and that you are feeling better.

    Katherine

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  14. linni: i don't know how radiant i am, but you get a hug right back.

    li: hi beautiful.

    maithri: blessings to you to my friend.

    cathy: that's exactly what was so striking to me...we bloom despite terrible circumstances and horrible conditions. really inspiring to me.

    li: hi again.

    katherine: i'll get to the "more" very soon. thanks.

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  15. I love the pic of you and Dave kissing ... that is a Marcia Erickson type-photo for sure! :) Glad you're doing okay and hope you can go back to reality without getting bogged down in it ... if you know what I mean.

    hugs

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  16. these pictures are amazing momma... i love it!

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  17. Terri
    I popped back over here to glance through these photos. Man, the power of these pictures. They are like mini sermons of God's power to bring forth life out of death.

    This gives me a new perspective on the scripture..if we don't praise God the rocks will cry out. If i really think about it, every flower that blooms preaches the resurrection of Christ. God brought life out of death.

    A grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to produce fruit. Now if i really believed that truth perhaps my life would be a lot less miserable.

    By the way...........I am playing with my new toy. Nate has my laptop tweaked, and running. I swear that boy is part encyclopedia. I did not believe it was humanly possible for a human brain to hold that much info without a nuclear explosion.

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  18. I absolutely adore the shores of Lake Superior! It will always be "home" to me. :) Glad you got away for awhile.

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  19. ive missed you! its been a while since ive passed here........

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  20. i just know pretty soon you'll be posting something delicious but i'm with deli missing you, but still seeing you, and loving you.

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  21. Love the symbolism in these photos.

    Glad you had time to unplug and unwind and see natures tenacity—how God can make growth and life where we would never expect it. Gonna think about this one for a while...

    Reminds me of a vision the author had in the book Stone Crossings (LL Barkat)

    Thanks for sharing.

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