These pictures are very special to me. When my pastor’s wife reached out to me and asked if I could take some family pictures for them, I didn’t think twice. I absolutely love my pastor’s family, and they were actually my very first paid clients, so they will always hold a special place in my heart. Amy believed in me, asked me to take family pictures, and from there encouraged me to create the photography business I have today. I never would have imagined one little request would change my life forever!

This session also came very close to home because of the meaning behind them. The patriarch of the family, Don, was diagnosed with ALS last year, and they wanted to get some pictures before things progressed any further. Around the same time they found out about about Don, I found out that my dad had stage 4 lymphoma. I know exactly what this family is going through, and loved that I was able to do something special for them that they would be able to keep forever.

I think the thing that impacted me the most was the fact that Don and Judy are still so very much in love. I’ve found through my experience with my dad that sickness, diseases and uncertainty of the future bring a family together. You learn to cherish each moment. You find joy in the little things. You look back on sweet memories, reminisce together, and don’t take life for granted. I know that in the Bible it says are lives are like a vapor, here one day and gone the next, and it never makes more sense than the moment you see a loved one suffering. But the beauty of the gospel is that in the midst of heartache and pain, there is the hope and peace that we only have through the Lord. There’s the security in knowing where they are going, and what the future holds. And there’s the knowledge that above all else, God will be glorified through it all.

And that joy that cannot be found outside of Christ is why I love this family. It’s seen in their smiles, in the embraces and in the laughter. They are secure in their future, they are secure in Don’s future and secure in knowing that they are here for one thing- to spread the glory of the Lord through their words, actions and deeds.

You may not see that in these pictures, but I do, and I will forever cherish these because of that. <3