…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mark 8:34

For many years I resisted having my picture taken to accompany my column. Writing was one thing, but having my picture taken was another thing. I am usually the one behind the camera taking the picture or standing in the back of group pictures. It seems as though I could always come up with an excuse as to why my column shouldn’t have a picture such as taking away from the content, or calling attention to myself. The truth of the matter was there are very few pictures of myself that I like and I even find a fault or two with them.

However, the day finally came to go to the office of the Sun and let them take my picture. I took great care in getting ready for my photo-op. I carefully curled my hair and even added one of those bumpits that are so popular on TV. (Can you tell?) I sprayed my hair liberally so not a single strand of hair would be out of place.

I took great care in applying makeup. I worked hard to make sure it would look “natural” and not overdone. Finally, I carefully chose an outfit I thought was most flattering and topped it off with my best dress shoes.

Taking great care of putting my seat belt on so it wouldn’t wrinkle my clothes, I headed for the office. When I walked in, I was told to sit in a chair and look at the camera. A couple of quick clicks later I was told that I was all finished. I was thanked for coming in and that was that. What took almost two hours of preparation and fretting turned out to be so simple.

When I finally saw the picture, it was small enough that a person couldn’t see all the imperfections that I am prone to pick out. In fact I was amused that I stressed about it so long when there was no need. The picture is a likeness of me while my columns reveal what is inside. The whole point of the column is to glorify God and encourage people to draw near to him. By concentrating on our flaws and weaknesses instead of allowing the Lord to change us we are implying we are more important.

Finally, there is the issue of submission. Jesus told us to follow him. In Mark 8:33, Jesus plainly told Peter he was thinking more about himself than what he was called to do. Do we have a tendency to think more about ourselves or will we hear the voice of the Lord when He asks, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us”? Will you say, “Here am I; send me”. (Isaiah 6:8) Will you go and be witnesses in your own neighborhood, or if called even to the ends of the earth?

Debra Whittington is a long time resident of Tucumcari. Contact her at

dawhittington@msn.com