2015 Lent Photo a Day Challenge: Announce

Every now and then I like to challenge myself to blog every day for a month based on some online photo challenge. Since today is Ash Wednesday, I thought I’d take on a slightly different photo challenge for the 40 days of Lent. The concepts to be captured in this challenge are a bit more abstract, truly more “challenging,” than photo challenges I’ve done in the past. Here is the list, by date (from www.rethinkchurch.org/lent):

February

18 – Announce

19 – Look

20 – Alone

21 – Joy

22 – Celebrate

23 – Covenant

24 – Path

25 – Remember

26 – Place

27 – Wait

28 – Powers

March

1 – Celebrate

2 – Bless

3 – Near

4 – Poor

5 – Follow

6 – Beloved

7 – Speak

8 – Celebrate

9 – Sabbath

10 – Knowledge

11 – Wise

12 – Stop

13 – Practice

14 – Search

15 – Celebrate

16 – Wilderness

17 – Endure

18 – Believe

19 – Light

20 – Place

21 – Still

22 – Celebrate

23 – Forgive

24 – Mercy

25 – Truth

26 – Seek

27 – Meditate

28 – See

29 – Celebrate

30 – Live

31 – Call

April

1 – Peace

2 – Breath

3 – Prosper

4 – Refuge

5 – Go

With today’s subject being “announce,” the first image that jumped into my head was of a row of heralds trumpeting, the shining brass bells of their horns raised high, blaring a joyful fanfare.

This particular bell belongs to a French horn, not a herald’s trumpet. It’s a bit battered, bearing dents and scratches earned through many years of use. The edge of the bell has lost its finish and has bits that have become ugly and crusty. And yet it can still call out a glorious announcement of something wonderful and exciting that is to come. Much like people, its outward looks do not reflect its potential for beauty and service. I am proud to use it to announce my intentions of taking up this challenge, because it is imperfect, just as I am. I can only hope that the humble efforts put forth by my battered self can serve to share some beauty, just as this battered horn shares a beauty other than its appearance.