Rogue Waves

Rogue Waves

children, grief, memories, moving forward, Photograph by Ken Gehle

I have a Sunfish sailboat in my basement. I have no clue how to sail it and the trailer for it is long gone anyway having rusted through behind the garage. It seems a shame for it to just sit but it’s the one belonging of my late husband’s that my kids are adamant that we must not shed. I can picture him leaving the shore time after time while the kids, too little to go with him, and I waited on the shore for his return. They have that same picture in their heads I imagine. He always came back before.   This grief is a bit like pushing that sailboat into the ocean from the shore. At first the breakers pound you relentlessly and you fear they are going to push you to the bottom. Then after a while you get beyond them. There are still swells and the occasional breaker but you’re sailing now. You feel the adrenaline rush of your leave-taking begin to subside. There is calm in the sailing, even peace, though the need to change direction offers new challenges. Obstacles crop up that need to be circumnavigated. You maneuver. You jibe. You avoid the shifting boom in the wind. Peace returns but let’s be real, it’s not as secure as standing back on the shore. You find that you are steady in the wind again when – wham! – a rogue wave swamps the boat. It’s frightening. You fear you may not live through it. Soon you realize that you are not going to sink but you wonder if you really know what you’re...
Wordless Wednesday: Psalm 23:1

Wordless Wednesday: Psalm 23:1

Photograph by Ken Gehle, prayer, Psalm 23, spiritual, Wordless Wednesday

  Please indulge me that Wordless Wednesday is not exactly wordless today but I want to offer some introduction to the next few weeks of images. The Pastor of my church approached me to work with another photographer on art for the summer sermon series on Psalm 23.  Interesting since that is my favorite Psalm…one I memorized as a child and could hear playing in my head while trudging the sand dunes of Death Valley, CA on a personal photo shoot with Ken. Another synchronicity: the photographer he wanted me to work with had worked with my husband when she was first starting out. The three of us discussed the deeper meaning of each verse of the Psalm and in my mind’s eye I could instantly call up photos in Ken’s portfolio that would work. Some are on his website, many are not. The images you see over the next few weeks will have portions of the 23rd Psalm written on them. Some you will “get” right away but I hope you will ponder how the image matches the verse if you don’t get it right away. The one above is a good example. You might be thinking, “Tamara, those are fishermen, not shepherds.” But look a little closer. What does this image say to you? Our Pastor did a masterful job of bringing the metaphor to life. I can share that but I’d much rather hear your thoughts first. For you, how does this image line up to the...
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