Just a Little Off

November 8, 2023

I’ve passed over this photo time and time again when looking at pictures to use for a blog post.

My intention as I walked the Chicago streets was to stand directly under the bridge and aim along the center axis. I wanted everything to be symmetrical in the shot. My goal was to have the bridge and its shadow to create leading lines out to a point.

I didn’t quite get there.

I don’t remember if I was in a hurry, felt I didn’t want some item in the frame, or paid more attention to the traffic around me.

I see the track shadows are closer to the right edge of the bridge than the left. The highlighting under the bridge girders is brighter on the right side of the bridge than the left. And as I look down the tracks to the vanishing point, I can see that the point is slightly off to the right (it helps if you enlarge the photo to see this more clearly). I just feel like I’m standing a bit to the right.

Now, some of the off-ness (I’m sure that’s not a real word) may be due to the sun’s position in the sky. It could have been just off to the left, which would make the shadows not directly under the tracks. You can see that the buildings on the left have shadowed that side of the street, and the right side of the street is sunny.

Still, the photo is just a little off.

Just a Little Off#hope #joy #writingcommunity Share on X

You may feel this way. Just a little off. You can’t quite put your finger on why that is, but it’s there. You’re not exactly happy or joyful, but you’re not overly sad. Things aren’t looking up, but you’re not down in the dumps.

Now, there could be lots of reasons for this, including, but not limited to health, environment, general mood, or what you’ve eaten recently, But it may be that you need to refresh your relationship with God.

If so, it’s likely not because you’ve intentionally walked away, vowing to have a go at it on your own. More likely, you’ve simply allowed other things to nudge their way into first place.

We have great hope when that happens. We can remember what Jeremiah tells us from the book of Lamentations.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV)

Take a few minutes and ask God to rekindle your relationship with Him. Stay quiet and expect His peace to help you back to a right relationship.

His new mercies, new every morning, are never ending. Just the thing to help us when life is just a little off.