Even though I'm Megan's aunt, I didn't know her very well; my own health issues, geography, and Megan dividing her time between two households were several of the barriers.
But on those few occasions when she graciously indulged my company at family gatherings, the subject was always our shared passion: photography. Megan was to begin classes in the fall pursuing this love.
Reviewing hundreds of photos on her Facebook page these past weeks, it was immediately obvious that she possessed the artist's eye. This is something that cannot be taught; it is a gift. I'm fairly certain Megan had no clue how talented she was artistically, which makes the gift all the more beautiful.
I've often wondered what life in heaven will look like. We will finally be the persons God created us to be, perhaps much like Adam and Eve happily and busily tending that exotic garden/orchard/animal preserve known as the Garden of Eden, before the advent of the Crusher of Everything Exotic, sin.
What could it possibly be like to have the artist's eye- pre-Crusher, like, uh.... on steroids? The closest my tiny brain can come up with is to recall a time when the experience of beauty was Grand Canyon-big.
Or, when passion for some artistic endeavor has rendered me unaware of hours passing.
I know there is no time in heaven, but imagine this:
Jesus: Wow, Megan, that is a beautiful work of art! Very creative.
Megan: Well, I get that from you, bro!
Jesus: Yeah, I know, but I love the Megan Olivia Hoogeveen version of the gift.
Megan: Yep! And there is so much more that I wanna explore!
Jesus: I've noticed that. I was just walking with your Aunt Carol and she mentioned that you were so immersed in your creating that you hadn't noticed her watching you as you worked.
Megan: She's the one who encouraged me to try this type of artistic expression. When I finished it I was a little surprised that a millennium had passed! It's so awesome that eternity is well...., eternal!
Jesus: It keeps getting better...
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The following are photo celebrations I created this past month.
I Love You This Big by Scotty McCreery - This was a video to celebrate Megan (who like I, loved Scotty!) making it though the night of June 14 following this CaringBridge post:
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 8:46 PM, CDT
Once again we plead for your prayers. Megan has spiked a 103 fever. The nurses moods have definitely changed and they are working with more determination, much like when we came in here the first night. They thought it might be best if we stayed here tonight. I pray that whatever way this ends up, may God's will be done.
I love you Megan! dad
I felt God's touch of clarity and passion that morning of June 15 as I put this video together in Blank's front lobby at 4:30 in the record time of 20 minutes, in spite of the handicaps of one of my editing programs malfunctioning AND the effects of staying overnight on the PICU waiting room floor.
This Big This is a remake of the former, utilizing more of Megan's photos.
Teresa A video made for Teresa, Megan's mother, to remind her, me, and now you, that Christ's (The Artist) eyes see past our 'junk' to our beauty.
Breakaway This song was chosen for Megan's funeral. I interpreted the lyrics as a metaphor for Megan's illness being the avenue to break away into the eternal. It didn't hit me until I was almost finished with it that the picture of Isabel (Megan's fellow PICU patient) at minute 2:26 in the video, followed by two shots of her with her cell phone, could be a metaphor for Megan calling on God to heal Isabel. Isabel attended Megan's funeral.
Family members may chuckle at the PUSH/PULL photos, since even though we spent a month going in and out of those PICU waiting room doors, we often pulled when it plainly said PUSH, and pushed when it obviously said PULL. And...all of us were happy to 'breakaway' from the world's most uncomfortable couch!
