The sun had just begun to set behind the canal near my house. Perfect time for a walk, I thought, grabbing my camera. Lately, getting outdoors to take photos of nature was the only thing that cheered me up.
A month earlier I’d moved from Virginia back to my small hometown in Ohio, hoping for a fresh start after my divorce. Instead it seemed life kept throwing me curve balls. It was taking me longer than I’d figured to settle in, both financially and emotionally.
I stopped to watch the ducks plunge their beaks in and out of the water. “Hey, camera lady!” a man’s voice called. I spotted him sitting under a gazebo farther down the canal.
“That’s me,” I said, laughing.
“You take a lot of pictures,” he said.
“Sure do,” I said. “I took a picture of your gazebo a few days ago. I’ll show you sometime.”
“Okie dokie,” the man said. “You just keep collecting those happy snappies!”
Happy snappies—I liked the sound of that. Wasn’t it true that no matter how tough times were, there were glimpses of God right around the corner? That evening he showed himself to me in the surprise of spotting a wildflower. Snap! He encouraged me through a friendly neighbor. Snap! I walked home, a few new happy snappies in my collection. And a whole lot of hope in my heart.
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