Below are two vintage videos placed side by side. One was taken 4 days before
the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906. The second was taken a few days after the
earthquake and the devastating fire ravaged the city.
I found them absolutely fascinating.
The difference in the scenery is stunning, but the
people—ah, the people still exude energy and verve. They often look tired, but
never daunted. I was enthralled and I have to say that my mind immediately
jumped to the verses in James chapter 4—“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will
go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet
you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist
that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If
the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”
I’m not advocating a fatalistic viewpoint. But these videos
remind me that no one knows what the future holds. I need to prioritize. Let
some of the little stuff go, invest more in relationships rather than striving
for riches.
I hope you will find this video as affecting as I did.
If you took the time to watch, what stood out most to you?
Influenced by books like The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, Lisa Karon Richardson’s early books were heavy on boarding schools and creepy
houses. Now that she’s (mostly) all grown-up she still loves a healthy dash of
adventure and excitement in any story she creates, even her real-life story.
She’s been a missionary to the Seychelles and Gabon and now that she and her
husband are back in America, they are tackling a brand new adventure, starting
a daughter-work church in a new city. Her first novella, Impressed by Love, part of the Colonial Courtships collection, is
coming in October, 2012.
Fascinating concept, although I couldn't see much of the "after" side of the video. It was cut off on my screen, so I'll have to go look for it on you tube.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the reminder from James 4. Too often I forget the big picture, which is God's will. He's in control; I'm certainly not.
Sorry I can't get the video to go any smaller. It looked fine in the "preview" view. Argh! Blogger!
ReplyDeleteWow, Lisa. That second video is haunting.
ReplyDelete