A guest post by photographer Mary Jasmin Yostos

 Mary Jasmin Yostos is not just a childhood friend, but also one of my favorite photographers to follow. I love how she manages to capture beauty in the ordinary with her camera; some of her photos just take my breath away, and they were literally taken in her driveway. Today I have the honor of sharing a guest post by Mary, along with some of her amazing photos. You can follow her on Instagram @trekkinglens to see more!

I was giving a lesson on how God created the world to my kindergarten Sunday School class. I remember one boy who responded to the lesson by saying “God is the best artist.” I was deeply moved by the words of this little boy. It wasn’t until years later when I picked up a camera where these words resonated with me and I’ve explored how God is truly the best artist.

It’s a cold morning and my goal is to make it from my front door to my car without freezing, however I see the morning sun hit the trees or the light glistening on frosted leaves…I forget that I’m cold and decide to capture the scene that God has put together just for me.

It’s later in the day where I see the sky start to turn a myriad of colors and I opt to pull to a familiar spot just to watch the sunset—again God put this together for me. I rejoice with the Psalms coming alive for me “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1, NKJV).

Emmanuel means God is with us. So often we forget that Christ is with us, as we are buried in the worries of the day or distracted by the screens that take us into another reality. It is nature that brings us back to Him and is a reminder that He is with us and has made everything perfect. It is no accident that many times after a storm one can see a beautiful rainbow or a beautiful sunset to remind us of His world and His promises. I’m always reminded of this verse during a rainbow. “I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth” (Genesis 9:13 NKJV).

In order for this to happen, in order for us to see God’s artistry everywhere, our five senses must be in tune with our surroundings, instead of buried into technology that can lead us to envy and jealously towards others. When our senses are awakened to nature, we will automatically be more present with each other and to see the image of God in each of us. God gives us these beautiful messages of hope through nature and in turn we should share them with each other, rather than tearing each other down in online discussions.

For me, my photography hobby has awakened my sight to the small and ordinary things that may go unnoticed while buried in a phone or rushing to get to  the next appointment. Instead of sharing multiple angles of my face, my Instagram feed is filled with scenes of how God is great and is truly perfect artist. It may be a fall reflection, a sunset, sunburst or just a random flower, we rejoice in His works. I pray that we all can find beauty in the ordinary.

All photos in this post are (c) Mary Jasmin Yostos, 2017.

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