.Captured.

Today someone asked me how I got into photography and then, why I love it so much. I suppose so much of it is the moment....because, when everyone's grown up and everyone's moved on with their lives, this moment will always bring you back. Being behind the camera is more than just pushing the button...it's seeing thru the lens the very things that make your families, children, and hearts beat faster. It's becoming familiar with the people whose moments you're capturing. It's about love...and even more, it's about taking a child who's not having the best day and capturing that quick giggle or the sweet hug that reminds you that it's the everyday moments that are worth memorizing.

That's the thing....it's life....life is messy, complicated, beautiful, joyful, crazy, chaotic, and, those are the very moments in my own photo album that I love the most. The candid moments of pure joy and bliss that fill every picture frame in my home....the moments that catch me by surprise and bring me hope...and the smallest things that remind me where my heart is. 

We all talk about how short life is but do we really appreciate that very sentiment. Do we really stop to smell the roses or do we wait for the photographer to come and set up the shot so you can share it on Facebook? What we forget is that God captures all of our moments...good, bad, and even ugly. God sees them on Facebook, He sees my own self-criticism as I look in the mirror, He watches me in my car, on my way to work, while I'm at work, when I'm driving home from everywhere, He knows how long it takes for me to blow dry my hair and put on my face in the morning, He hears me singing in the car and in the shower, He knows my routine, when I pray, when I make time for His word, He knows my priorities, and He is always behind me and seeing the good, bad, and impulse decisions that I make. I don't doubt that he has a never ending memory card....and I faithfully go to confession, apologize, and feel remorseful because we all have moments we need to delete off the card....moments we're not proud of and wish we had done better....moments where we just weren't who we want to be. That's the beautiful thing though--He forgives without abandon....He doesn't bring up my past mistakes...and He doesn't use hurtful words to get His point across....instead, He just loves me more.

So, yes, I capture moments....and I see beautiful glimpses in time through a tiny opening on the back of a piece of equipment.....but I also see those very things every day that don't get put on film or uploaded to Facebook...and those images engraved on my heart are just as important as the ones hanging on my wall. And, everyday, I am most thankful for the images I can visit only in my memory....those are my real moments. We all have one...the moment when you wish more than anything that you'd have had your camera....but maybe it's for the best that we didn't....sometimes, the best place to dwell is in your own heart for a while...pure, simple, and, in just a moment, it takes you right back there....if only you'll close your eyes long enough to see...