Through Her Eyes

By Ron Sanders

Campus Minister with Cru at Stanford University, Associate Faculty in Christian Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary

“Creativity and spirituality help in this process [of hope & resiliency], but discovering new hope can also be aided by nature, the arts, and interactions with trusted family, friends, and colleagues” (Pauline Boss, Loss, Trauma, and Resilience, 184).

This is my daughter Sarah. She is a junior in high school and we had the unique experience of going through the beginning stages of Covid-19 in the SF Bay Area together (Bonnie was in Portugal at the time and Zac had just returned to college in LA after his spring break).

Sarah’s an artist…we have a lot of artists in our family (Bonnie is a photographer, Zac studies film in college and does music, and I am an “amateur chef”). Her losses were mounting from the consequences of the spreading pandemic: Her junior prom was cancelled, her gymnastics season was cancelled, all of the students were sent home from school, and two international trips were cancelled. All this happened within 10 days.

Before the “shelter in place” restrictions went into full effect, she set up a photography “studio” in our garage and called her friends over as a way to give what they were experiencing an expression. Here are the photos she was able to take before we all had to be 6 feet apart.

I started to read the Psalms this week as a way to connect more deeply with the art of the Scriptures and the reality of expressing our emotions to God (even if they aren’t always the cleanest). A consistent refrain in the Psalms I’ve been reading is “How long, O Lord?” That sums it up for me.

If you want to participate in the comment section, write a word, or post your own art as a way of expressing what you are feeling.

Photography by Bonnie and Sarah Sanders