Today, I was given a special gift from a special person. It’s the kind of gift that means a lot to me, the kind that makes me think. And, the longer I contemplate the giver’s generosity, the more I appreciate having received it. The significance of the gift has very little to do with actual monetary value but finds its significance in the story that it could tell. It is the story that makes it priceless and, for that reason, I am blessed to have received it.
Today, I was given a camera. Actually, I was given four cameras, two tripods, a camera bag, and various other accessories. A dear lady that I have not known very long gave the cameras to me. I met her while planning the funeral of her husband. They were his cameras. As I opened the bag and began to look at its contents, I thought about my own passion for cameras and the amount of time I have spent researching just the right lens for the right project, looking at different models and what this one does better than the next and hunting for just the right one. Then, when that perfect purchase is made, the excitement begins. I wondered about the process that he had gone through to come to his decision and somehow, I felt like I had made a friend. Strange, I have never met him and yet I felt a little smile come across my face as I thought about what our conversations would have been had things been different.
The cameras are dirty. More like dusty. At first, I wondered how someone who clearly invested a lot of time, energy, and money into putting these cameras together would let them get this dusty. Then, I remembered the picture that was displayed at his funeral. It was a picture of a man with a million dollar smile sitting under a tree, his saddled and bridled horse standing nearby, taken only days before his death. The dust was an indication of the value of the cameras to him. He didn’t buy them to be trophies; he bought them to capture memories. The dust was a sign that they served their purpose. The picture on display in the church captivated the congregation that day. It captured the life of a man that meant so much to so many.
Today, I was given a gift. Though it seemed like I was given some camera equipment, the gift I was given was far more important than that. Life is short. Live it. Capture it. Leave a legacy that will cause others to cherish their life while thinking about yours. May your camera always have dust on it.