Do you have photos you love, but they’d be even better with a little cropping? I’ve done that often, especially with Christmas card photos—get rid of the wall and couch so the people fill the space. It’s more pleasing to focus on the main image and not be distracted by excess or an unnecessary background.
As we do with photos, we likely have mental images or memories that would be made even better with a little cropping, with a little more focus on the most positive parts. I have a new photo I love. I am holding my grandson when he was new-born. He is peacefully sleeping on my shoulder, and my expression shows that I could have stayed in that precious moment for a very long time. I didn’t even know the photo was being taken, but I’m so grateful to have it and revisit that memory. However, I have to mentally crop out that the photo was taken just minutes before I had to let him go, so I could leave for the airport. It is a memory that is wonderful and sad at the same time, so I try to focus on the wonderful of holding him and crop out the sad of having to say goodbye.
It can be easy for us to get lost in the backgrounds, distractions, and busyness around us and lose focus on what is most important and life-giving. And that’s not to say that the ‘backgrounds’ aren’t important. They are part of the whole picture, they are a part of who we are, and they should be acknowledged. But if they detract from our focus, if they turn us away from joy, and most especially if they turn us away from God and His goodness, then it’s time to crop. We can still be upset about a situation, a loss, or a decision, but within that, can we focus—can we fill the space—with the gift we had for a time? Can we summon a prayer of thanksgiving for a special moment, for an experience, or for a memory that filled our hearts, gave us hope, or made us stronger in faith?
When I crop photos, I save the original and the new, cropped version. I keep them both. One doesn’t replace the other or remove any of its contents permanently. But one version is more meaningful and more focused on the better part. What images or memories would bring you more joy, comfort, or peace if in your prayer you cropped them just a little and allowed the good—His love and goodness—to fill up the space?
Journeying to Grace 