Never in the past 5-6 years have I attempted to scrap more than 10 layouts in one day. If my memory serves me right, I succeeded in making 5-6 layouts in one day – during the Scrap Buffet, a feat I have not been able to replicate. Nor have I thought I would ever need to.

However, on Friday night, I started a scrapbooking marathon unlike anything I’ve done in my entire life. I had 75 photos to scrap for an exhibit at our Church. And I had one whole day, maybe a little over 24 hours, to do it. I prayed for creativity and inspiration. And God granted my prayer. A few days ago, I started sketching some layout ideas to help me when I start working on the layouts. I never got to use my sketches. I just winged it. The hardest part was deciding which photos would go together and what story they would tell. My favorite set was the photos of the altar call. I immediately knew that the set is all about winning souls for God’s kingdom. Anyway, I started my task at around 8pm Friday night and ended close to midnight on Saturday. I was quite happy with the results. Ariel helped me lay them out on the foam boards. By the time I got to bed, everything was ready to be brought to Church early Sunday morning.

In terms of design, I kept them simple, taking care not to make them feel too feminine. No ribbons, lace, buttons or Prima flowers in any of the layouts. It was hard. I love to embellish. In this case, I wanted the photos to stand out so we can tell the story. So I had to restrain myself. I did a lot of distressing. It’s the one thing that tied the whole design together. I used a myriad of papers and card stocks so inking sort of unified them. I felt really good when I completed the tast. After all, this is the first time I am actually scrapping for “church work”. I am deeply honored for the opportunity to use my passion for the ministry. It sort of gave my hobby a bigger purpose. Now here’s where I learned a valuable lesson.

So we got to church before 7am on Sunday. Ariel and I had a hard time sticking the boards to the panels but we did it. During the service, I kept obsessing about the exhibit. What if people start touching the layouts? What if kids take them apart? What if they leave finger prints? I should have added a sign that says “do not touch”. Are the boards falling apart? It has to be perfect! I fidgeted in my seat and thought of a hundred ways to secure the exhibit. I kept glancing back to the panels to check if they are still intact. I was totally distracted. Then, in the middle of the service, it hit me. It was like a quiet voice whispered in my head. I realized, hey, these aren’t my layouts anymore. I did this for the Lord. It is His. It is not a showcase of my scrapbooking skills. It is a venue to share the great work the Lord has done for our Church. I have to learn to let go. It’s ok if people touch them. It’s ok if they get a bit dirty. So what if the boards fall off? We can put them back on the panels. Finally, I was able to focus on the cantata and the message that Jesus is the reason for the season. And not some scrapbooking projects. LOL!

So, even if I got a bit miffed by people moving the panels and therefore causing the boards to fall off, I’d just stick them back on and let go. I remember a lesson I learned from my dad years ago, when I was still very young. It was about giving. I remember complaining about giving, and not being sure what people do with what we gave them. For example, if I give money to a street kid, how sure am I that he won’t just use it to buy a cigarette? Or gamble with it? Then my dad shared an important lesson with me. When we give, we have to think that we are giving it to the Lord. Then it wouldn’t matter what the receiving party would do with it. I guess it is the same when we do some work for the ministry. I did my best and offered my service to God. What people do with my work is God’s business because I already gave it to Him. It isn’t mine anymore.

Here are photos of the exhibit. By the way, all photos were taken by Photography Club members. We covered the 30th anniversary of the Word for the World Christian Fellowhip last November 7, held at the PICC. Enjoy!

This is the front panel – 15 layouts
Back panel – 10 layouts

Add caption
Written by Alby Laran

    1 Comment

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply