Mordecai’s fussiness suddenly ceased when he saw the smooth, dark green object in my hand. Wherever it moved, his eyes moved with it. His hands tapped excitedly on the high chair tray in expectancy of what was coming next.

I sliced the avocado in half while grunts of approval increased in impatient rapidity. As I dug the baby spoon into the soft, nutritious flesh, Mordecai’s mouth opened wide. Time stood still.

“Why is he taking so long!” I’m sure he was thinking. To be honest, I was stalling a bit to soak in the sheer pleasure of watching his animated anticipation of the delicious fruit. One thing is certain. This boy loves avocado!

I chuckled. If only my siblings could see this! For a long time now, I’ve held the status of top avocado lover in the family. The others will tolerate some on their salad and may enjoy a scoop of guacamole on their tacos. But to eat it plain? They can hardly stand to watch me pop the avocado slices into my mouth without crackers or cheese.

And now here’s my boy, who gets more excited about straight avocado than any other food he eats. Little “James Junior” is a man after my own heart. 🙂

Surprisingly, I have not always enjoyed these smooth, green fruit.

Years ago, I heard about how incredibly healthy avocados were. And this made me want to eat them more! I remember the first time I decided I would eat a whole one plain, all by itself. Yes, there’s a strange bitterness to raw avocado, and not every avocado is created equally. But I’ve gotten used to it and actually really enjoy them now because I know how good they are for me!

Landscape Photography Like Avocados?

Interestingly, for me, landscape photography is a lot like avocados. I didn’t used to love getting up early or staying out late to take pretty pictures. I still don’t like all the inconveniences of freezing toes or trying to keep equipment dry or bending over a tripod or running after hats blowing away in the wind. I don’t like the feeling of disappointment when I go through all kinds of hassle to get a shot, and yet walk away having bagged nothing.

But years ago, as a young person, I saw really pretty landscape photos. They inspired me! It made me want to go out and try to get the same kind of photo on my camera. Not every landscape photo op is created equally. But I’ve gotten used to that. I still look at pretty pictures of landscapes. And beautiful landscape photos still inspire me today!

Even if there’s just the prospect of a gorgeous photo, and if there’s time on my calendar to get outside (and of course, if I have the right gear with me), it doesn’t matter how early or uncomfortable it is, that urge to capture something beautiful is stirring me to get up and go!

Like, when we were at a big family reunion last year . . .

We were all gathered at Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia. I had photographed Blackwater Falls, the parks main attraction, many times before. But on the other side of the park, I knew of a series of outcroppings that I had never photographed at sunrise or sunset before. They were beckoning me to come explore them!

Searching For Pretty Pictures

I was up at 5:00am and on location at the first set of ledges at 5:30am. The wind was unbelievable!

I experimented with a few compositions as I waited for the sun to rise. When it came, it was a bit of a disappointment. There were nice clouds, but no stunning color.

I headed to the next ledge in hopes that there would be something worth photographing. This time, there was no trail. All I had was a satellite view in Google Maps to find what looked like a large group of outcroppings along the rim of Blackwater Canyon.

My laborious bushwhacking was rewarded with a underwhelmingly small, plain ledge with no golden hour light to work with.

Even looking toward the rising sun didn’t offer much of anything satisfying.

I pushed on to my third and final destination, the outcropping you can see in the background of the above photo.

I don’t know how many times I lost my way, but my eyes were fixed on the goal. The morning had been unsuccessful so far, photography-wise, but that didn’t change the fact of what could be at the next location, right?

Finally, I made it. How true is the proverb, “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat” (Proverbs 13:4). The ledge was so picturesque! And for a brief moment, God stuck a hole in the clouds to let down some sunlight as golden as sunlight can be an hour after sunrise.

Blackwater Canyon
Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia
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The seeds of inspiration, planted years ago, had yielded yet another pretty picture. How very satisfying was my bite of delicious avocado that morning. 🙂

God’s Word, Like Avocado Too

God’s Word is also like healthy food. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby . . .” (I Peter 2:2).

Like our avocado loving Mordecai, Jeremiah in the Bible loved a good bite of nutritious food too: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart . . .” (Jeremiah 15:16).

Do I have the same excitement about eating God’s Word?

As a young person, reading the Bible was something I did because that’s what Christians were supposed to do. But when I got older, I hit a very low point in life. Why was I just doing what I grew up doing? What was the point of reading the Bible anyway?

Even though daily disciplines weren’t fulfilling for me at that time, verses like Proverbs 2:1-5 did give me hope that there was something better than what I had: “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

I can believe avocados are good for me, but it won’t do me any good unless I start eating them. Pretty pictures can inspire me to be a great landscape photographer, but it won’t do me any good unless I actually go out and start looking for great photos.

So, I kept reading the Bible regularly . . . and fervently pleaded with God to give me a love for his Word. It was in this very low point in life that I started surrendering things I never knew I needed to surrender too.

And you know what? I can’t explain it, but not long after that, God gave me a love for His Word. I can’t remember when it started, but I will never forget the morning when I realized it. It took me by surprise, actually. I remember picking up the Bible one morning, and I thought, “Hey, wait a minute. I’m looking forward to reading this morning. How did that happen?!”

And the feeling has never left! It varies in intensity day by day, year by year, but it’s always there. And it’s a love that I can feel! It’s the same feeling I get when I think about going out and taking amazing landscape photos.

May we with Job with sincerity say, “. . . I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). God answered my prayer. His Word is true. We will find the knowledge of God if we seek for Him as for hidden treasure.

This is one reason I’m excited about the other half of this month’s assignment! To read the Book of Proverbs in the month of March. Even if you are just reading the Bible because that’s what Christians are supposed to do, God’s Word will not return void! Continue surrendering to Him and reading His Word.