Heartland's Story -  "My" Miracle Picture        Return To Previous Pg.       

      Passing over the Mississippi River into a mid size Iowa town, I looked up at a sunlit church complete with it's white steeple perched against a perfect blue sky.  Pretty to look at, and nice to see, partly because of my Christian beliefs.  However with so many other buildings close to it, and telephone wires strewn throughout, it certainly didn’t make for a good photograph.  Remembering what I had once heard in photography seminar, I then tried to imagine a better set of circumstances, yet still considering the basic subject matter.  What if someday I found a white sunlit steeple with a stormy sky, without the distractions, maybe that would make for a better picture?  I drove on, negatively thinking the envisioned picture would probably never happen, and that even if it did, it may not be good anyhow.
      Later that day, after driving some 200  'picture hunting miles,' it was time for a break.  Now sitting in a farm town restaurant bar, looking out the screen door recently entered, it was obvious a dramatic change in weather was taking place.  The sky was turning black, yet the sun was still shining bright, as a storm rapidly approached.  With strong doubts, I abandoned my ‘liquid refreshment’ to go and look for the steeple picture imagined earlier.  Yes there was a church in the town, but without a white steeple, and the setting wasn't much better then the one seen that morning.  Compromising,  I thought "what about a farm related scene?"  With the dramatic conditions at hand, came more possibilities.  So off I went, first on the main highway, then taking a right turn to escape the traffic down a smaller gravel road. The dark sky & storm was off to the right, yet the sun was still shining on me and to my left.  The wind had picked up substantially, even rocking the car a bit.  Abruptly I pulled a u-turn, more out of feeling than thought.  Back over & across the main road just exited, now going the opposite way.  From the driver side it had been awkward seeing out the passenger window towards the dark sky, but now looking out from my side it was easier to see, along with all the surrounding countryside.  After driving for only about 5 minutes, way off in the distance on my left,  I could hardly believe my eyes.  There was a white sunlit church complete with steeple & cross, standing alone in the "middle of nowhere," accented from behind by the stormy sky!  Driving closer, coming up ahead in front of the church, was a low sloping hill. 
I drove on, hoping it might just leave the steeple in view.  Continuing, the lower part of the church appeared  to "slowly sink" below the horizon as hoped,  leaving only the sunlit steeple against the vast dark sky.  Stopping to photograph the scene, then almost just as unbelievably, I saw the working farmer tilling the land right on the crest of the ever so slight hill.  Fearing it would start to rain, or I’d loose the sunlight, I hurried to attach the proper lens, and set up a tripod.  My excitement was hard to contain, the scene being far better then imagined, yet real.  With the strong telephoto lenses used, holding the camera would surely produce out of focus pictures.  With the wind blowing so hard, I  moved my car around to use it as a shield.  Parking it slightly sideways across the hardly used road, now protecting the tripod/camera setup from the strong gusts of wind.  I photographed for almost an hour, with the tractor & farmer slowly working their way back and forth across the horizon.  The wind, along with the sun "moving in and out of the clouds,"  made for a tricky combination of elements to hopefully get right.  At one time the tractor & worker disappeared altogether, and then a pickup truck pulled up beside me, offering help if needed.  It turned out to be the farmer himself, after seeing me parked for so long, he thought my car had broken down and was offering help. 
      It never rained there that afternoon, the storm just "kicking up the dust, & threatening." 
      Many will consider all these circumstances coming together as a set of coincidences, at one time when I was atheist that’s exactly what I’d believe.  If that’s your thought, I encourage you to give God "half a chance," like I’ve done and so many others, then you’ll be seeing miracles too!
                                                                                    Thanks for Reading On, Terry O'Donnell

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