Telephoto Testimony

[Guest ApostleKnight]

I haven't been on here in a while, and the reason is also the reason for this post.

Some of you may remember that on Nov. 6th of last year my father was wrongly injured in a head-on car accident which left him in a coma for a few months and barely able to string four or five words together to this day, let alone walk or care for himself. My mother and I have been caring for him 24/7 since then, an exhausting and often numbing job.

Through this all I've tried to do various things to keep my sanity. I love my father, but doing nothing for about five months but monitor feeding tubes, change sheets, help with basic hygiene and care, watch pretty much helplessly as the man I respect more than any other lays in bed day in and day out...well, it's worn me out even though I consider myself a somewhat emotionally and spiritually hearty individual.

I enjoy cinematography/filmmaking/entertainment etc... so this is one area I've studied a little bit in my "free time." Perhaps many of you have experienced those "aha!" moments where two seemingly unrelated ideas coalesce into a greater truth or idea with or without effort on our part. Such a moment occured the other day as I was pondering the array of video lenses available and which lense/s I'd choose if I had limitless wealth and could afford any one I wanted (the good cinema lenses cost $14,000 easy).

The "aha!" moment referred to earlier occured when I was thinking about depth of field, apertures, shutter speeds and lots of other things which fascinate me. Basically I was comparing prime lenses and telephoto or "zoom" lenses. Without digressing into a wordy explanation, suffice it to say that prime lenses cannot "zoom in or out." They have a fixed focal length, focal length being an optic's ability to focus light. A prime lense, then, only presents a clear picture "in focus" from a set distance, whereas a telephoto lense can, of course, present your family dog in focus a few feet away, then zoom in and present a car a block away in focus.

This versatility of the telephoto lense in being able to focus light struck me as being similar to the sort of testimony that a person in my situation, for instance, would want to have as an aid in enduring trials. What does that mean? I think there are basically two types of testimonies (this reduction of the spectrum of personal witnesses to two types is for the purpose of discussion only, and is not meant to be gospel truth so don't worry about pointing out to me the plethora of testimony-types).

First is the "prime lense" testimony. The person with this sort of testimony can only see God's will clearly for experiences happening in the present. In other words, they can only focus on something a fixed distance from them in the river of time. They cannot see or visualize the future in clarity largely because they do not believe or understand God's promise that He loves us and hence, will consecrate our afflictions for our gain.

Second is the "telephoto" testimony. The person with this sort of testimony can focus on God's will for them in the present AND see in clarity the future beyond present trials. Like me, maybe you've only realized the reason for a trial or experience months or years down the road. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

I've had friends who, when suffering or facing trials, "curse God and die" so to speak. Nothing as literally dramatic as that, but you know what I mean, the metaphorical throwing up of arms and sighing at God's apparent neglect of them and their happiness. Often this leads to a decrease in obedience (after all, why obey if you suffer anyway?) and a loss of the Spirit (which leads--but not necessarily--to a downward spiral of disobedience/loss of the Spirit).

Getting back to the present (and shifting focus, if you'll pardon the pun), I accept my father's suffering because it's real and it's happening, but also because there was either a pre-existing reason for it to occur which only God could see, or God will make it worth my father's while to have endured it (i.e. the consecration of afflictions for our gain thing).

My ability to focus and think clearly is admittedly lessened due to the past five trying months. But what isn't lessened is my ability to focus down the road, swim ahead down the river of time as it were, and trust that God will reveal the reason or reward for all of this.

Have you ever seen someone try to "punish God" by ignoring/distancing themselves from Him because of some trial He allegedly "allowed to happen" through a lack of love? I've done that before, and once was enough to realize I was only punishing myself and retarding my spiritual growth and happiness.

So why bother typing all this when I haven't had time to post/reply in five months? I guess I just felt like distilling five months of trials and crystallizing my thoughts and feelings into one--albeit long--post for someone's benefit. As they say (but don't ask me who "they" are), "A smart person learns from their experiences, but a wise man learns from other people's experiences." So now you have no excuse for being unwise.

Seriously though, I'd hope we'd all periodically check our "spiritual lense" so to speak, and see if our focal length/ability to focus light (or focus on Christ's light amid the darkness) is fixed on the present, or can focus on that which is down the road. I submit that a person with such a "telephoto testimony" will find greater strength for living, enduring, and trusting God. May we all acquire the ability to focus on the broad expanse beyond our proverbial nose, and in so doing, become more like Him who has all things before Him and for whom there is no past, present or future but one eternal now. I pray this for all of us, regardless of religious persuasion, creed or lack thereof.

The one constant tying us all together is suffering and trials. After all, a tear-stained cheek means the same thing in every language, country, clime and faith. In the spotless name of Christ I so witness.

[pushka]

Hi Apostleknight. It's lovely to hear from you again after all this time. I'm very sorry to hear of the enduring complications of your father's illness, but pleased to hear of the attitude you have taken towards dealing with the problems and keeping your faith in your God.

I too believe that the only way that we can overcome the stress of coping with unexpected events in our lives, which are detrimental to us, is to look at the larger picture, and try to keep hopeful that we will all get through it no matter what the final outcome is.

Good luck and best wishes to you and your family. :)

[Guest ApostleKnight]

Good luck and best wishes to you and your family. :)

Thanks much pushka. Good to hear from you too. :)

[Snow]

Hi AK,

Nice to hear from you. Very insightful post - thank you and I wish your family well.

[Guest ApostleKnight]

Hi AK,

Nice to hear from you. Very insightful post - thank you and I wish your family well.

Hey, the gang's all here. :) Good to hear from you again Snow. I'm sure you've been keeping everyone in check, glad you're still on the boards! Hope to post more here in the future. Thanks for your kind wishes.

[StrawberryFields]

Sorry to hear about your fathers and thus your families trial. Thanks for sharing your story here.

I have a question if I may... What do you mean your father was wrongly injured? I hope that doesn't sound cold, I just think the same thing with a injury my son received less then two years ago, where he was left with a traumatic brain injury. I believe that you are very insightful and I just wanted to hear your view on your fathers injury. If it is too much right now I will understand. I wish you and your family the very best.

[begood2]

AK,

It is great to hear from you! I have always enjoyed reading your post, and this one is no exception. Your ability to express yourself makes it a joy to read your post and the little gems of wisdom that can be gleamed from it ...are the icing on the cake. :)

I hope that I can be like the wise man that learns from other people's experiences ...if I learn to focus on the light of Christ, not for just the here and now, but through out my life ...I can clearly see how it will make me a better and stronger person ...in following the straight and narrow path through trials and hardships that we have encountered along the way. Thank you for the message! :)

I also want to let you know that, you and your family are still in my prayers. As an optimist, I'm hoping that one day you will be writing back to tell us of the great progress your dad has made. Best Wishes! :)

[Guest ApostleKnight]

AK,

It is great to hear from you! I have always enjoyed reading your post, and this one is no exception. Your ability to express yourself makes it a joy to read your post and the little gems of wisdom that can be gleamed from it ...are the icing on the cake. :)

I hope that I can be like the wise man that learns from other people's experiences ...if I learn to focus on the light of Christ, not for just the here and now, but through out my life ...I can clearly see how it will make me a better and stronger person ...in following the straight and narrow path through trials and hardships that we have encountered along the way. Thank you for the message! :)

I also want to let you know that, you and your family are still in my prayers. As an optimist, I'm hoping that one day you will be writing back to tell us of the great progress your dad has made. Best Wishes! :)

Hi begood2, wow, thanks for the kind post. :) It's really good to hear from all my old friends on the boards again. I really missed posting here for so long. I really appreciate your prayers and optimism. My dad received two blessings independently of each other from two different priesthood holders, and they indicated that he'll recover to a degree where he can enjoy family life again, so it's going to be a waiting game (with prayer and elbow grease thrown in of course). Thanks again, it's great to hear from you!

Sorry to hear about your fathers and thus your families trial. Thanks for sharing your story here.

I have a question if I may... What do you mean your father was wrongly injured? I hope that doesn't sound cold, I just think the same thing with a injury my son received less then two years ago, where he was left with a traumatic brain injury. I believe that you are very insightful and I just wanted to hear your view on your fathers injury. If it is too much right now I will understand. I wish you and your family the very best.

I don't mind answering the question at all. What I meant was that my dad didn't cause or contribute to the accident. He was actually on his way to a church meeting when a driver had a siezure (he claims, we'll see), crossed the center-line and ran his full-size van directly into my dad's VW Golf. No contest.

I did not mean, however, that my dad "didn't deserve" to be in an accident and so it was wrong. We're all in debt to God; so we don't deserve our blessings; so we can't complain about suffering we don't feel we deserve without forfeiting our blessings which we also don't deserve. I'm sorry for your son, though I don't know the specifics. I do know that brain injuries are ugly, plain and simple.

[Miss_Krystal]

I haven't been on here in a while, and the reason is also the reason for this post.

Some of you may remember that on Nov. 6th of last year my father was wrongly injured in a head-on car accident which left him in a coma for a few months and barely able to string four or five words together to this day, let alone walk or care for himself. My mother and I have been caring for him 24/7 since then, an exhausting and often numbing job.

Through this all I've tried to do various things to keep my sanity. I love my father, but doing nothing for about five months but monitor feeding tubes, change sheets, help with basic hygiene and care, watch pretty much helplessly as the man I respect more than any other lays in bed day in and day out...well, it's worn me out even though I consider myself a somewhat emotionally and spiritually hearty individual.

I enjoy cinematography/filmmaking/entertainment etc... so this is one area I've studied a little bit in my "free time." Perhaps many of you have experienced those "aha!" moments where two seemingly unrelated ideas coalesce into a greater truth or idea with or without effort on our part. Such a moment occured the other day as I was pondering the array of video lenses available and which lense/s I'd choose if I had limitless wealth and could afford any one I wanted (the good cinema lenses cost $14,000 easy).

The "aha!" moment referred to earlier occured when I was thinking about depth of field, apertures, shutter speeds and lots of other things which fascinate me. Basically I was comparing prime lenses and telephoto or "zoom" lenses. Without digressing into a wordy explanation, suffice it to say that prime lenses cannot "zoom in or out." They have a fixed focal length, focal length being an optic's ability to focus light. A prime lense, then, only presents a clear picture "in focus" from a set distance, whereas a telephoto lense can, of course, present your family dog in focus a few feet away, then zoom in and present a car a block away in focus.

This versatility of the telephoto lense in being able to focus light struck me as being similar to the sort of testimony that a person in my situation, for instance, would want to have as an aid in enduring trials. What does that mean? I think there are basically two types of testimonies (this reduction of the spectrum of personal witnesses to two types is for the purpose of discussion only, and is not meant to be gospel truth so don't worry about pointing out to me the plethora of testimony-types).

First is the "prime lense" testimony. The person with this sort of testimony can only see God's will clearly for experiences happening in the present. In other words, they can only focus on something a fixed distance from them in the river of time. They cannot see or visualize the future in clarity largely because they do not believe or understand God's promise that He loves us and hence, will consecrate our afflictions for our gain.

Second is the "telephoto" testimony. The person with this sort of testimony can focus on God's will for them in the present AND see in clarity the future beyond present trials. Like me, maybe you've only realized the reason for a trial or experience months or years down the road. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

I've had friends who, when suffering or facing trials, "curse God and die" so to speak. Nothing as literally dramatic as that, but you know what I mean, the metaphorical throwing up of arms and sighing at God's apparent neglect of them and their happiness. Often this leads to a decrease in obedience (after all, why obey if you suffer anyway?) and a loss of the Spirit (which leads--but not necessarily--to a downward spiral of disobedience/loss of the Spirit).

Getting back to the present (and shifting focus, if you'll pardon the pun), I accept my father's suffering because it's real and it's happening, but also because there was either a pre-existing reason for it to occur which only God could see, or God will make it worth my father's while to have endured it (i.e. the consecration of afflictions for our gain thing).

My ability to focus and think clearly is admittedly lessened due to the past five trying months. But what isn't lessened is my ability to focus down the road, swim ahead down the river of time as it were, and trust that God will reveal the reason or reward for all of this.

Have you ever seen someone try to "punish God" by ignoring/distancing themselves from Him because of some trial He allegedly "allowed to happen" through a lack of love? I've done that before, and once was enough to realize I was only punishing myself and retarding my spiritual growth and happiness.

So why bother typing all this when I haven't had time to post/reply in five months? I guess I just felt like distilling five months of trials and crystallizing my thoughts and feelings into one--albeit long--post for someone's benefit. As they say (but don't ask me who "they" are), "A smart person learns from their experiences, but a wise man learns from other people's experiences." So now you have no excuse for being unwise.

Seriously though, I'd hope we'd all periodically check our "spiritual lense" so to speak, and see if our focal length/ability to focus light (or focus on Christ's light amid the darkness) is fixed on the present, or can focus on that which is down the road. I submit that a person with such a "telephoto testimony" will find greater strength for living, enduring, and trusting God. May we all acquire the ability to focus on the broad expanse beyond our proverbial nose, and in so doing, become more like Him who has all things before Him and for whom there is no past, present or future but one eternal now. I pray this for all of us, regardless of religious persuasion, creed or lack thereof.

The one constant tying us all together is suffering and trials. After all, a tear-stained cheek means the same thing in every language, country, clime and faith. In the spotless name of Christ I so witness.

So... you speak of these "aha!" moments. Then, perhaps you have read the book. "The seven habbits of highly successful people?".. Also..great thoughts! I love it when people think like this..it's what defines life! I love it!

[shanstress70]

Your family is in my thoughts and prayers, AK. I am sorry your father is going through such a rough time, and I hope his prognosis is positive. Stay strong, and thanks for sharing your wonderful thoughts!

[boyando]

I haven't been on here in a while, and the reason is also the reason for this post.

Some of you may remember that on Nov. 6th of last year my father was wrongly injured in a head-on car accident which left him in a coma for a few months and barely able to string four or five words together to this day, let alone walk or care for himself. My mother and I have been caring for him 24/7 since then, an exhausting and often numbing job.

Through this all I've tried to do various things to keep my sanity. I love my father, but doing nothing for about five months but monitor feeding tubes, change sheets, help with basic hygiene and care, watch pretty much helplessly as the man I respect more than any other lays in bed day in and day out...well, it's worn me out even though I consider myself a somewhat emotionally and spiritually hearty individual.

I enjoy cinematography/filmmaking/entertainment etc... so this is one area I've studied a little bit in my "free time." Perhaps many of you have experienced those "aha!" moments where two seemingly unrelated ideas coalesce into a greater truth or idea with or without effort on our part. Such a moment occured the other day as I was pondering the array of video lenses available and which lense/s I'd choose if I had limitless wealth and could afford any one I wanted (the good cinema lenses cost $14,000 easy).

The "aha!" moment referred to earlier occured when I was thinking about depth of field, apertures, shutter speeds and lots of other things which fascinate me. Basically I was comparing prime lenses and telephoto or "zoom" lenses. Without digressing into a wordy explanation, suffice it to say that prime lenses cannot "zoom in or out." They have a fixed focal length, focal length being an optic's ability to focus light. A prime lense, then, only presents a clear picture "in focus" from a set distance, whereas a telephoto lense can, of course, present your family dog in focus a few feet away, then zoom in and present a car a block away in focus.

This versatility of the telephoto lense in being able to focus light struck me as being similar to the sort of testimony that a person in my situation, for instance, would want to have as an aid in enduring trials. What does that mean? I think there are basically two types of testimonies (this reduction of the spectrum of personal witnesses to two types is for the purpose of discussion only, and is not meant to be gospel truth so don't worry about pointing out to me the plethora of testimony-types).

First is the "prime lense" testimony. The person with this sort of testimony can only see God's will clearly for experiences happening in the present. In other words, they can only focus on something a fixed distance from them in the river of time. They cannot see or visualize the future in clarity largely because they do not believe or understand God's promise that He loves us and hence, will consecrate our afflictions for our gain.

Second is the "telephoto" testimony. The person with this sort of testimony can focus on God's will for them in the present AND see in clarity the future beyond present trials. Like me, maybe you've only realized the reason for a trial or experience months or years down the road. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

I've had friends who, when suffering or facing trials, "curse God and die" so to speak. Nothing as literally dramatic as that, but you know what I mean, the metaphorical throwing up of arms and sighing at God's apparent neglect of them and their happiness. Often this leads to a decrease in obedience (after all, why obey if you suffer anyway?) and a loss of the Spirit (which leads--but not necessarily--to a downward spiral of disobedience/loss of the Spirit).

Getting back to the present (and shifting focus, if you'll pardon the pun), I accept my father's suffering because it's real and it's happening, but also because there was either a pre-existing reason for it to occur which only God could see, or God will make it worth my father's while to have endured it (i.e. the consecration of afflictions for our gain thing).

My ability to focus and think clearly is admittedly lessened due to the past five trying months. But what isn't lessened is my ability to focus down the road, swim ahead down the river of time as it were, and trust that God will reveal the reason or reward for all of this.

Have you ever seen someone try to "punish God" by ignoring/distancing themselves from Him because of some trial He allegedly "allowed to happen" through a lack of love? I've done that before, and once was enough to realize I was only punishing myself and retarding my spiritual growth and happiness.

So why bother typing all this when I haven't had time to post/reply in five months? I guess I just felt like distilling five months of trials and crystallizing my thoughts and feelings into one--albeit long--post for someone's benefit. As they say (but don't ask me who "they" are), "A smart person learns from their experiences, but a wise man learns from other people's experiences." So now you have no excuse for being unwise.

Seriously though, I'd hope we'd all periodically check our "spiritual lense" so to speak, and see if our focal length/ability to focus light (or focus on Christ's light amid the darkness) is fixed on the present, or can focus on that which is down the road. I submit that a person with such a "telephoto testimony" will find greater strength for living, enduring, and trusting God. May we all acquire the ability to focus on the broad expanse beyond our proverbial nose, and in so doing, become more like Him who has all things before Him and for whom there is no past, present or future but one eternal now. I pray this for all of us, regardless of religious persuasion, creed or lack thereof.

The one constant tying us all together is suffering and trials. After all, a tear-stained cheek means the same thing in every language, country, clime and faith. In the spotless name of Christ I so witness.

What a beautiful testimony you have written. My wife's father is very I'll and her family was told last night that he may pass with in the week. Many of the things that you are providing for your father, my wifes family have had to do for my father in law.

As we gathered, about 30 of us, to make decission's on what care we should give him in his final days on this earth, the spirit of the lord was with us.

Sure there were tears and confesions of how we all wished we had talked to him more and it was very hard to say thy will be done oh lord but we all came away with a secnes of how much we all loved him.

Thankyou for sharing your toughts, I will pass them on to others and try to edify with your words, if that is allright with you.- Allmosthumble

[Ray]

It's good to hear from you again, ApostleKnight.

And it's also good to hear that you still know that God loves us... no matter what happens. :)

[Guest ApostleKnight]

So... you speak of these "aha!" moments. Then, perhaps you have read the book. "The seven habbits of highly successful people?".. Also..great thoughts! I love it when people think like this..it's what defines life! I love it!

I have indeed read that book many years ago, though I've forgotten if there's a connection between it and "aha!" moments. I remember it was a good prep for using the blue planner on my mission though. :) Thanks for the post.

Your family is in my thoughts and prayers, AK. I am sorry your father is going through such a rough time, and I hope his prognosis is positive. Stay strong, and thanks for sharing your wonderful thoughts!

Thanks very much for the support. It's nice having friends during hard times.

Thankyou for sharing your toughts, I will pass them on to others and try to edify with your words, if that is allright with you.- Allmosthumble

I'm sorry indeed to hear of your family's situation. I'll pray for strength for you all, though it sounds like you are determined and united. Feel free to share anything I've said if you think it'd help someone. Thanks for the post and God bless with your trial.

It's good to hear from you again, ApostleKnight.

Likewise Ray. I look forward to discussing various things with you all again when I have time here and there.

[Jason]

Best wishes AK.

[Guest ApostleKnight]

Best wishes AK.

Hey bro, I was hoping you still frequented the boards. I'm looking forward to resuming the discussions we used to have. Thanks for your post, hope you're doing well too.