Every so often I have a session that reminds me why I do this, why I choose to fill my time being a witness to others’ lives, to view their laughs, smiles and precious moments from behind my lens.  It’s because there’s something so humbling about being invited in, even just for an hour or less at a time, to be witness to these lives, to be trusted with the documenting of it, and to be humbled by the story being told.

This year I’ve witnessed the love of families as they celebrate another year of growth, the excitement and anxiety surrounding senior year, the first few hours of life and the love between husbands and wives as they commit to each other.  Each session has its own story, each family has its own soundtrack, and each time I am honored to be the one to share it with the world.  But sometimes, in the chaos of my own story, in the busyness of my own life I can forget to focus on that, I get lost in the schedules and deadlines. It’s in those times that God usually gifts me with a story I can’t look over, with a session that impacts my being, that snaps me out of my routine and throws me straight into His story.

Today was one of those times.  Today I got to be witness to a different story than I ever have been before.  Most of what I capture are the joys in life, the milestones, the yearly witness to continued life together, and the beginnings of stories.  Today was different, today was celebration of a life lived together and acceptance of the path ahead.  I’m not going to share the details of this story, it is their story to share, but I am so very humbled to have been witness to it.  To be able to see the love shared between two people, not in loud vibrant ways, but in small looks, and reassuring hugs.  To be able to see the faith in a God that promises so much more than just this life.  To be witness to all this, in a few moments of time, under the last of the fall leaves, and the quiet, warmness of an empty chapel, is a blessing that I could not have imagined.

So to those who trust me to be a witness to your lives, to your joys, your loves, your celebrations and your stories, to you I am thankful.