August 30, 2008. This is a date the woman above, Dee, will never forget. One year ago, this sweet church friend lost her precious daughter, Alex, in a terrible boating accident. There are no words to describe such grief. It is every mother's worst nightmare. An e-mail was sent that day to ask for assistance in planning the church service, meals for the family, etc. My heart broke for them and their loss but then, amidst the sorrow, God somehow reminded me of a picture I had that would mean so much to this family.
That May, I shot the Mother/Daughter luncheon at our church and took posed shots of each pair in attendance. After the formal pictures, there was a nice service inside and I put my camera down to enjoy the food, music and fellowship. I only took 3 pictures from my seat inside. This was one of them. I immediately knew God had me snap this forgotten shot that day just to be able to comfort Dee with it later. You see, Dee is such a faithful and devoted lover of Jesus. She sits front and center every Sunday with her hands in the air praising the Jesus she so dearly loves. I had in my possession an image of both her love for her Lord and her precious, precious little girl who had been so tragically taken from her.
I did not attend the funeral (served up a roast instead!) but my friends tell me, she walked straight up to this picture (which she had no idea was taken) and stared in utter silence. What a bittersweet moment.
I do not tell this story to pat myself on the back for shooting this image. No, quite the opposite. It was an after-thought on my part but a carefully planned event in God's book. At that point in my business, I had done several family sessions, had one preschool under my belt and had only shot 2 weddings. I often wondered if what I was doing was worthwhile. It takes considerable financial investment (and time) to start up a photography business and I wasn't sure if God wanted me to take on such a big task. This image was also his gift to me. He reassured me through this event that His blessing was upon my work and I should follow His lead with all my heart, all my mind and all my soul.
Dee and I attended a women's event this Friday night and He placed her so heavily on my heart that night. I decided to ask if I could use this image on my blog because I would soon launch a new blog and thought it would make a great posting. She stared right into my eyes and told me that today was the anniversary of Alex's death. I could not have aligned these events to coincide on that anniversary but God did. He continues to remind me that He is sovereign and orchestrates all things for His glory. Although my new blog is still a few days away from being launched, I just had to put this picture up and share the story. Dee continues to lift her hands to praise our Father in heaven instead of curling up in grief and assuming a life of bitterness. You see, both she and I know that sweet Alex went straight from her mothering arms to Our Father's strong arms in heaven. There will be a reunion for this mother and daughter one day.
So today, I thank you Lord for taking what Satan meant for evil and using it as a testimony through Dee, the blessing of a job I dearly love and the ability to remind others through my camera that we are all made IN HIS IMAGE. Thinking of you today, Dee. - Julie
