“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
 the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26

Someone asked me recently why is it that I change my profile picture so much? Not just on Facebook, but on WordPress and other platforms too. It occurred to me that I am seldom the same person more than a few weeks running. So while a “standard” image may well be preferable, there is no way I can actually have one.

I used this one for a long time, standing on the edge of the precipice outside of Nazareth during our epic trip to Israel. I thought it did a good job of representing where I am in my journey, how I write, and how I see the world. It still does, in many ways, but who I am is more dynamic than that. Maybe “dynamic” is a more acceptable way to say “aging”! But there really is this sense of being a constant “work in progress” or as the book puts it, “Pilgrim in Progress.“

I was walking down the hallway recently and glanced up in the mirror. “What do I see?” I thought. “Is this some old guy? Is this really ‘me’?”

Then I realized that I don’t actually see myself like a portrait; I don’t even see an image, or a photograph; what I see is MYSELF. And that both, A) Hasn’t really change since I was around 10 years old, and B) Changes pretty much every day.

I can’t wait to get a new picture with the Miami grandchildren when they come to visit this weekend! And I will be even more excited to set one up featuring everyone (including Andrew, Alicia, and Mr. T. from Bahrain) at the end of July.

Then there are those profile pics with Rebekah, or with Max, or standing on the beach or the top of a mountain. They all capture something of who I am in that moment.

I guess the point of this post is that I cannot manufacture an “image” of who I want the world to think I am when they look at my profile – I wouldn’t want to. What is more important is to live authentically, to present an honest face to the world, and to constantly challenge myself – ourselves – to grow and learn and live into the invitation God offers which is: “Live in the light, know the abundance of my love, and share this grace, generously, every day.”

Sometimes I hope you can see a little of that in my profile pic – DEREK