Year in Review

There are stories here.

Part of them are mine.

Most of them are yours.

I’m drawn to these stories. I’m drawn to the way people are drawn together. The way her eyes linger when he reaches for her hand. The way his face lights up when she smiles at him. I’m drawn to the fact that he has waited 33 years to find her, this woman who brings him hope and peace and grace and joy.

There are stories here.

In every frame.

There are stories born of hardship and loss. It’s woven in the way their hands clasp, his gentle squeeze a reminder that he sees her, that she is known and loved and cherished and held in her grief. There are stories of hope, of beginnings as pure as fresh fallen snow. Beginnings they’ll tell their grandchildren about someday. There are stories of painfully long periods of waiting. Waiting for the right man, waiting for that first child, waiting for that vocation. But there are also stories that involved no waiting at all. Stories of the moment she looked at him and her soul said, “Ah. There you are.” There are stories of healing, of burdens shared and faith renewed. It’s in the way they rest together, comfortable and content and utterly themselves. Gone is the fear. Gone is the insecurity. Gone are the masks and the half truths and hidden scars. It’s all there for him to see. And all he sees is beauty. She’s radiant.

There are stories in the wild abandonment of childhood. Lessons to learn too, if we’re brave enough to try. Dreams are realized in these precious faces, in wobbly first steps, and perfect, tiny toes. These are dreams some of us weren’t sure we’d ever see. It’s in the way a mother brings her child in close. The way she cradles that child, the one who has been longed for through many long years.

There are stories here.

Look. You’ll see.

These stories, your stories, they bring me hope. Each of these images is overflowing with love. Not the fairy tale, easy, this will fix everything kind of love. But love that is tested, love that is sacrificed for, love that is good, and beautiful, and true. Thank you for inviting me in to tell that story. This job is an honor and a privilege and I’m so grateful you all allow me to do it.

Cheers to year one, friends. I can’t wait to see what year two holds.