I have a small photo album, one of those cheap ones you can get at the dollar store that hold 4×6 inch pictures.  A cheap photo album, but like any of yours, probably full of treasures.  This particular one doesn’t hold photos of my family (although I do have a few of those).  Instead I have collected art prints and words–poetry and prose–that inspire me.  It does include one real photo–of my brother Tim’s grave.  Otherwise, it’s simply, as I said, art work that inspires me, that speaks to me of the love of God and my love for Him. I use it in prayer regularly, opening it up to this or that page that may strike me at the time.   On a couple of facing pages I have placed side by side two pieces of art that you wouldn’t normally place side by side, but doing so makes a strong spiritual point for me.  I would like to share some of those with you in this blog, and hopefully doing so will pull you into the love of God.  Look at the ones below, for instance.  Can you what is similar in both of them . . . before reading what I’ve written below?

The one on the left is obviously of Jesus rescuing Peter as he sank beneath the waves.  The one on the right may not be as obvious.  This is an icon of Jesus’ descent into hell when He goes to release Adam and Eve.  Did you notice in both how Jesus reaches out His hand in both situations to grasp the hand of the other?  That is a window into His Heart for each of us.  He is always reaching out His hand to each of us in our need, to strongly grasp ours as we reach out for Him.