God and Nature Winter 2022
CREEDS - PHOTOESSAY |
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By Cheryl Grey Bostrom
Each of us operates according to a creed: a set of beliefs or aims.
No exceptions.
Sometimes we acknowledge our creeds. Sometimes we don't.
Nonetheless, our creeds fuel our decisions, direct our actions, propel our hopes or our despairs, and shape how we interpret the world.
Creeds stall us, freeze us, trap or liberate us.
For good or ill, they set us in motion, often from behind the scenes or from somewhere deep.
They either lie to us or tell us the truth.
Whoa.
Best if we ferret them out, don't you think?
Best if we know what drives us?
I was nineteen, wild with heartbreak and hungers, when God swapped my old way for grace and brought me to his family.
Me, his newborn, swaddled in love
and a new creed:
"We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth..."
No exceptions.
Sometimes we acknowledge our creeds. Sometimes we don't.
Nonetheless, our creeds fuel our decisions, direct our actions, propel our hopes or our despairs, and shape how we interpret the world.
Creeds stall us, freeze us, trap or liberate us.
For good or ill, they set us in motion, often from behind the scenes or from somewhere deep.
They either lie to us or tell us the truth.
Whoa.
Best if we ferret them out, don't you think?
Best if we know what drives us?
I was nineteen, wild with heartbreak and hungers, when God swapped my old way for grace and brought me to his family.
Me, his newborn, swaddled in love
and a new creed:
"We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth..."
God-washed.
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
—Isaiah 1:18 (NIV)
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
—Isaiah 1:18 (NIV)
Burdened.
“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you…”
—Psalm 55:22 (NIV)
“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you…”
—Psalm 55:22 (NIV)
In the Mind’s Eye.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
—Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
—Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Breakthrough.
"Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
—Matthew 16:16 (ESV)
Cheryl Grey Bostrom is a Pacific Northwest native, naturalist, photographer, and author of SUGAR BIRDS, fiction Award of Merit winner in Christianity Today’s 2022 Book Awards. A former teacher and columnist, she lives with her husband and two irrepressible Gordon setters in rural Washington State.