The snow fell thick and fast. Wind whipped across my face. Just days earlier, I had been strolling with the family through early, spring blossoms in beautiful, warm weather. But on this mid‑March afternoon, winter wasn’t giving up without a fight.

To get any sort of good photo out in this blizzard, I had to keep wiping off the snow that kept blowing onto the front of my lens. Meanwhile, Julianna, Mordecai, and Israel waited patiently in the heated van while I battled the wind and discomfort.

But honestly? I wasn’t at all annoyed! It was the perfect storm for perfect outdoor photos—and I was loving every minute of it, especially after a recent, snowless adventure up north.

Branches swayed. Wet snow fell in waves from the treetops. I struggled to freeze the motion around me. But maybe that was ok! Maybe the motion blur was the truest way to capture the mood of the moment.

Experiences like this might keep some people indoors. But me? Bad weather is an irresistible invitation! My love for amazing photographs pulls me outside in every kind of weather—gentle, furious, peaceful, epic.

And because of that love for the outdoors, I’ve discovered it helps me do more than just add to my collection of lovely photos….

It actually enhances other areas of life…..like reading the Bible!

When Scripture Come Alive

For instance, not long ago I read this verse: “And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.” Isaiah 7:2

God uses an illustration from the world of nature to help us understand a concept He’s trying to describe. But that illustration doesn’t land the same if you’ve never stood in a blizzard or thunderstorm and really watched the branches and trees swaying in the wind!

Or consider James 1:9–11: “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.”

Don’t you love photographing flowers? But the crocuses bloom only for a short time. The dandelions are soon mowed down. The violets don’t last forever. And as a photographer, I’m very well aware of this.

They all serve as an excellent illustration for the concept James wants his audience to understand: riches do not last for long.

And because I’m out in nature, often laying flat on my stomach photographing the flowers of the grass, what God is trying to say more naturally comes alive to me.

The Power of An Illustration

I’m no farmer. But I’m pretty sure those who keep sheep understand Psalm 23 in a way I never fully will.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

When something is explained using an illustration, it is easier to understand. It relates to life. And Scripture is full of them!

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” Matthew 6:26

The more time I spend outside, the more I tend to appreciate and relate to all sorts of concepts the Scripture talks about!

Familiar with Sunsets

I can’t tell you how many times Psalm 19 comes to mind while I’m photographing a sunset: “His [the sun’s] going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” Psalm 19:5

And the reason for that verse? Well, many of course. But one reason is because it’s using the physical sun to illustrate what God’s law is like, as described in the very next verse: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:6

I have photographed hundreds of sunrises and sunsets. I relate to that chapter in Psalm 19 so much.

Pure Sunset
Countryside outside of Adair, Oklahoma
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Full of Illustrations

I could go on and on! Scripture is so full of illustrations from nature that come alive to me as a photographer.

This morning, I read about what the field of the slothful man was like. (Sadly, I don’t have any pictures handy of someplace all grown over with thorns, and broken down.)

But I do have a really neat photo from a quick stop in Red River Gorge from a few days before the snow storm!

How can I not look at this and not think of Psalm 94:22, “But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.”

And just last week, I was photographing a gushing stream in West Virginia’s beautiful Monongahela National Forest.

“But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” Amos 5:24

Verses like these stand out to me.

Why? Because I’m a landscape photographer. Because I spend time outdoors. Because I’ve experienced, and continue to experience, so much of what the Bible uses to illustrate it’s truth.

So, whatever it is that gets you outside—gardening, hiking, birdwatching, photography—may it enrich your understanding of the Scripture. May it help you see God’s truth with new clarity. May it turn the world around you into a living commentary on the Word He has given us to explore!