| I traveled further North coming to the Happy Corner Covered Bridge in Pittsburgh. This bridge is one of the oldest covered bridges in Northern New Hampshire. Locals would have to cross Perry Stream on foot where the water was shallow. Legend has it the one-lane Paddleford truss bridge was named for the happy time people would have at the home of an elderly gentleman who lived next to the bridge. It is said that people would come from near and far to sing and dance to the music on his Victrola. |
| “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you - majestic in holiness, Awesome in glory, working wonders? Exodus 15:11 I felt surrounded by His love. “And so I come....I come with thankfulness...and so I come, I come with love.” I feel His presence all around me. I look at the trees, the brook, and the sun shining through trees...... He comes to us...”in the beauty of His holiness...with love He calls us to His side.” I walk on towards the waterfall with the song ringing in my heart, mind, and soul! I come to the base of the waterfall and sit on a rock, looking up, towards the tip of the waterfall... towards heaven. I found “the one!” Yes, I found the song that touched hearts and lives.. but “the one” I found, Jesus Christ, is standing there, with loving arms open wide, ready to shower us with tenderness. No matter what shape we are in...hurting, rejected, discarded, abandoned, destroyed...he draws us to His side...like a magnet... pulling us towards Him. |
| The words of the song strike my heart. I can picture the Doctor in the play, far away from God, finally making the decision, finally putting his life in the hands of the Great Physician, finally giving himself over to Christ in body, soul and mind! “COME WITH LOVE” You come with love in the beauty of Your holiness With love You call me to Your side You draw my heart and You shower me with tenderness Your loving arms are open wide And so I come I come with thankfulness. And so I come, I come with love And so I come, I come with thankfulness. And so I come I come with love When the night is falling and the day is done I can hear You calling, come…I will come while You sing over me When the night would hide my way, I will listen until I hear You say How I love you child, I love You. How I love you child, I love you How I love you When this life is over and the race is run I will hear You calling “Come.. -When the night surrounds me, all my dreams undone I can hear You calling, come…. COME WITH LOVE with When The Night Is Falling King of Glory, King of Love - Words and Music by David Moffitt and Sue C. Smith |
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| Photography By Dolly Dolly Abbott 249 Northside Road Stark, New Hampshire 03582 E-mail: dolly@photographybydolly.com |
| Use of these images is strictly prohibited without obtaining permission from "Photography By Dolly" Copyright 2001-2006 Photography By Dolly. All Rights Reserved |
| Photography By Dolly Stark NH Brockton MA |
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| On a beautiful pre-autumn day, I headed up to Pittsburgh, NH, close to the Canadian Border. I was armed with maps of NH, maps of area covered bridges, an arsenal of paperwork on covered bridges, four cameras, a plethora of filters and lenses, five CD’s of past Christmas musical cantatas given to me by the Pastor’s wife, Elaine Ray, a large Dunkin Donut ice coffee and a solitary plain donut (my idea of dieting). Being an avowed “multi-tasker” my objective was two-fold. My main purpose was to get seasonal photos of covered bridges in the Pittsburgh area and secondly to find music that would fit in the Christmas play we would be performing in December. The trek should take 4-6 hours round trip so I would have plenty of time to listen and pick out music that would fit in with the Christmas play. As I started driving North on Route 3 past Groveton, I stopped to take a few more shots of the Groveton Covered Bridge. I knew that I had just about every possible angle of the bridge but you always feel the next shot may possibly be “the one!” Every photographer has that dream of capturing the one shot that will propel him or her into the pages of “Life” Magazine! |
| I was listening to the very upbeat “Joy” from the musical “God of Wonders” and could still hear it playing as I got out of the car to take just one more shot. The sky was blue and perfect for getting those great shots you always see in publications. Perhaps this could be it...”the one.” I could see the reflection of the bridge on the still water of the Ammonoosuc. I took my shots and wandered back to the car. On to the next bridge of my now continual (my kids call it “obsessive” - I call it continual) “covered bridge expedition.” On Route 3 I took the hidden left hand turn towards the Columbia Covered Bridge, another bridge where my portfolio of photos was quite large but, once again, I thought...one more photo...it might be “the one!” I was thrilled to see a plethora of yellow flowers on the side of the road. I had been by this bridge many times but obviously had managed to miss this grouping of flowers. As I began shooting, attempting to get the flowers and the bridge together I thought..well..maybe, just maybe, this might be “the one!” After 40 to 50 shots of the bridge from every angle, I then drove through the bridge bringing me into Lemington, Vermont and made my way up toward’s Colebrook. I was now listening to the King of Glory CD and thinking about the play. |
| The play should be a pretty easy task as I wrote and directed it back in 2000. The script was intact and it needed a few changes here and there once I finalized the music. All and all it should be a pretty easy task. I knew once I heard all the songs on the CD’s I would be able to replace songs and rewrite parts with no problem. I was on a covered bridge expedition but that never stopped me from photographing other places along the way. I came to the shrine of Our Lady Of Grace. A beautiful, peaceful spot, run by the Catholic Diocese of NH and located on Route 3 where over 50 carved monuments of marble and granite decorate the landscape. The “Blessing of the Bikes” is held here every June and bikers from near and far join together on this spot. I have stopped here many times in the past few years to photograph as well as meditate. |
| I kept listening to Christmas music playing through my open car window as I sat in front of the biker memorial. How could I do that play without hurting those who didn’t get that miracle in their life? I forgot about capturing the perfect photograph as I prayed that God would intervene and show me how to construct the ending of the play for those hurting in our congregation. I begin wandering throughout the meticulously manicured lawn towards a small island, surrounded by water, with a long wooden bridge spanning the still water. There on the island are stone figures of a family praying. |
| As I sat there, the play suddenly took on a vexing dilemma. I could certainly leave the play “as is” and have the little girl miraculously get well in Scene 10. What about my friends at church…what about my longtime friend Caroline who just walked through the “shadow of death.” Caroline…a long time Christian, always with a smile, always with a helping hand, always with a sparkle in her eyes…well until now. The smile can still be seen on her beautiful face but the sparkle in her eyes is gone. Was it fair to her and to them to perform a play with the “proverbial” happy ending...the miracle that doesn’t always happen in real life? Could many of our own beloved congregation sit through a play and think...” why didn’t that miracle happen to my loved one?” |
| I drive through the winding roadway and stop at the large, glistening stone memorial dedicated to those who have lost their lives on motorcycles. It is a solemn reminder to those who ride and those of us who have buried those who rode. It is a moving, emotional, and touching commemorative statue and the pain can still be vividly felt in the faces of the carved couple kneeling next to the bike. As I walk over to the large monument and look at the carved faces I think of those who I have lost, as well as those who have lost someone close to them. I think about the play. The play is about a little girl dying of heart disease and when it was performed years ago, the little girl was made to live as I rewrote the script and had a miracle happen in the last scene. I once again looked at the distraught faces of the carved statues and thought about many of our congregation who had suffered the devastation of losing a loved one...especially a child. |
| I had photos of four covered bridges and decided to head on home. I drove away and started the journey back to Stark. I had already listened to two complete Christmas Cantata’s and the music, all directed toward worship to God seemed so right in these beautiful surroundings. Who could possibly deny God’s creative hand in this masterpiece of beauty? Hills and mountains and valleys, trees of every description, streams, trickling brooks and lakes going on for miles! I hooked on to the by-pass road which would cut through the mountains and as I neared the top of the mountain I could see for miles and miles. For a moment it felt as if I were on top of the world. I had been listening to “King of Glory” and had noted more possible songs for the play when the song “Come With Love” began. The music was haunting. I hit the “back” CD button and listened to it again. I hit it again...and again! I look at the mountains surrounding me. The passage from Psalm 121:1,2 kept resounding in my head......... I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121 |
| as an early Fall snow storm had beat my arrival to the covered bridge. As I approached the bridge I noticed more damage to the sides of the bridge had been done over the past year. As I began shooting pictures I thought how sad this once beautiful piece of Americana was being destroyed by the elements around it and no one seemed to care. Was it worth taking photos of? Would anyone want to look at this rotted, half standing structure with a “Bridge Closed” sign over it’s archway and a chain across it’s white gates? This photo would definately not be “the one.”I began snapping photos and discover that someone had cared enough to plant flowers in an old, weathered, water barrel directly in front of the opening. As I positioned the camera to shoot the flowers I noticed how beautiful the inside of the bridge looked. The arches of the Paddelford truss bridge and it’s weathered beams came alive. All it took was one addition... flowers! I drove away listening once again to Christmas music while the picture of the bridge stayed in my mind. This old tattered, worn down structure had once again become a beautiful bridge with the simple addition of a barrel full of flowers. |
| I get into the car and travel further North. The surrounding hills and valleys were astonishing with the greens of summer still predominant while the reds and golds of Autumn were subtle in their appearance here and there throughout the mountains. Listening to Christmas music blaring from the CD player, I came upon the once perfect Pittsburgh/Clarksville Covered Bridge. I had already taken Autumn shots of this bridge in 2006, however, my Autumn shots had turned to Winter shots |
| I wander across the street where the gift shop and chapel are located. I notice carved statues of the crucifixion and, armed with my camera, I once again notice flowers that seem to surround the statues. As I get closer to the crucifixion scene I look up at the Cross and stop. I sit on a bench and am mesmerized by my thoughts about the play and the scene before me. How did God feel watching His beloved Son suffer on a cross? Was God thinking that we weren’t worth His Son’s life? What was I doing? I’m suppose to be finding Christmas music about Christ’s Birth and I’m in tears over His crucifixion. Okay...it’s time to move on. I’m suppose to be finding “the one.” The photograph that magazines would be clamoring to publish. |
| As I started driving down what looked like a shear drop, the words grabbed at my heart! The music played as the soloist sang, joined by a haunting soprano voice, and then filled out with a choir. The song touched me in a way that was indescribable. It was worship! It was reverent but it was more than that. It was a lost soul being told by Jesus, “Come!” I had found “the one!” I found the picture that photographers wait for all their lives but it wasn’t a picture that I could actually take a photograph of... the picture was in my heart! It was a picture of Jesus holding out His hand...not his hand...His arms...opened wide...to welcome us...to hug us...to shelter us...to surround us with His love! We were that ugly, uncared for bridge. We were that scarred, broken and battered covered bridge that no one cared for...no one except Jesus. He was the flower that brought beauty into our lives. He was “the one” who cared for us...cared enough for us to die on a cross. He was “the one” who brought a beautiful fragrance into our lives. He was “the one” who called us to His side...with the words...”How I love you child, I love you!” I was overwhelmed with the words of the song and felt His presence to the point that I had to stop driving. I pulled into Beaver Brook Park in Colebrook. I took the CD and portable CD player with me as I walked towards the waterfall. |
| I found the song! I found “the one!” Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today and forever more. But what about my friends, my dear Caroline, and so many others..feeling the depts of despair....I think of the hymn “God Leads Us Along” written by George A. Young in 1903. |
| "God Leads Us Along" In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet, God leads His dear children along; Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet, God leads His dear children along. Chorus Some through the waters, some through the flood, Some through the fire, but all through the blood; Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song, In the night season and all the day long. Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright, God leads His dear children along; Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night, God leads His dear children along. Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose, God leads His dear children along; Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes, God leads His dear children along. Away from the mire, and away from the clay, God leads His dear children along; Away up in glory, eternity’s day, God leads His dear children along. |
| God leads His dear children along. There is something so special about hymns. They teach doctrine. They teach comfort. They teach peace. The chorus of this hymn has special meaning for my friends who have gone through the waters, through the flood, through the fire, and through great sorrow. He still leads us...by the hand....whether we are on the “mount where the sun shines so bright” or “in the valley, in the darkest of night.” He leads us along. He is there calling to us. He is there “when the night is falling and the day is done.” When we feel our world has come crashing down around us and there is no reason to go on...He is there...calling Come! |
| When “the night would hide my way” He is there. When “this life is over and the race is run... I will hear Him calling “Come!” “When the night surrounds me, all my dreams undone...” When we lay in bed, tossing and turning feeling abandoned, feeling alone, feeling so great a pain from our loss, we see nothing but darkness ahead of us, behind us and everywhere we turn there is nothing but this great hurt... But stop...Listen... Can you hear Him calling... Come...come... ”Come With Love!” |
| To Caroline With love From Dolly Abbott February 25, 2008 |
| www.photographybydolly.com E-mail: dolly@photographybydolly.com |
| Come With Love For My Good Friend Caroline and her beloved son Steven Harris May God Bless and Comfort You! A Pictorial Journey to find "the one! |