Contrast

We took a trip to the strawberry patch today. It was absolutely perfect weather to be outside spending time with loved ones. As with any event like that, we try to take as many pictures as possible. A trip to the strawberry patch is a great memory-maker.

With kids, getting pictures is always tricky. It’s a minor miracle if all eyes are pointed at the camera. But our family has run into another issue to contend with when trying to get the perfect shot: contrast. You see, getting the perfect shot has a lot to do with lighting of your subjects. I’m far from a good photographer and even I know that. However, when your subjects range from a rich brown skin tone to that of a pale ghost (that would be me), you find out that the correct lighting for one person doesn’t match the correct lighting for others. It is a very frustrating thing to review your pictures later and realize that you can’t make out the detail on Corey’s face.

At the lunch table today, Aidan starting talking about race. He pointed out innocently that President Obama is the nation’s first African-American president. Then he made a comment about “black” and “white” (don’t recall what he said). He didn’t say anything wrong whatsoever, but I asked him to continue the conversation with me later.

Later, when we didn’t have the younger kids listening, I explained myself. I told him that I was very glad that he was learning about our country’s history – even some of the very dark times (note: they’ve talked about slavery and civil rights to some extent; that was not some veiled shot at President Obama). I told him I think it’s good and important to learn about how we are all different. I told him that it’s much more important at Corey’s age to learn about the ways God made us all the same. To emphasize the point, I said “You are not my white son and he is not my black son. You are both my sons.” He seemed satisfied with that explanation and went off to play.

Let’s be honest here; there will be plenty of time to appreciate all of our beautiful differences. And unfortunately, there will likely be times when those differences bring out ugliness in people we meet. We are not going to try to pretend like race doesn’t exist. Before we stop to consider any of that though, I want Corey to feel unconditionally loved. I don’t want him to look at himself as an outsider to our family, even in ways that may seem insignificant to some people. Then, when he is ready for the discussion, I welcome the chance to talk about how our Father in Heaven delights in the spectacular colors of His creation.

Though we didn’t adopt Corey to prove some point, I’m glad that our little family has an opportunity to learn how to love regardless of color. I truly hope they’ll grow up being able to look past physical appearances, not just in the area of race.

For the record, I’m happy to deal with poor contrast in my pictures. It helps remind us of the amazingly colorful world that God created. That, and post processing is a wonderful thing.