Tomorrow is a big day- a lovely wedding
taking place at the Minnesota Arboretum and the Minneapolis Golf Club. I am
beyond excited about photographing the day, the love, the emotion and the
stories lived out. I always like to spend the Friday before a wedding
looking for inspiration and living out inspiration. Today, that meant
going for a walk with my little ones and soaking up the sun, warmth and
beautiful leaves that are just starting their transformation. It also
meant reading up on a few of my favorite photographers and I came across this
from Gina Zeidler:
"Y’all will you join me in battling the the lie that
everyone else has it together and we don’t. How you might ask? By being
honest, humble and real. Admitting our faults with our triumphs so that
we all can see each other as we really are. Imperfect and beautiful."
This topic has been on my mind, heart & lips as of
late. This issue of trying to communicate that we have it 'all together'
is an issue of humanity- and is probably more pervasive in our country than
most. It is an issue of pride first and foremost. But I think it is
also a fear. We fear being transparent because it leaves us vulnerable.
And what I am learning again, through recent hurt from a friendship I
held dear and the forming and building of many new, blessed friendships, is
that vulnerability is beautiful & scary all at once. But it doesn't
have to be scary. And this is the beautiful part...
"There is
no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with
punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love
because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:18-19
When I am connected
to Christ- when I am in the word, praying, and tuning my heart, mind and
actions according to His will, and His way, I feel secure. I
know I am loved by the King of kings, my Creator, and my Savior. This
security, this knowing, brings a joy that I cannot describe- it is a joy
that is not dependent on circumstance. When I am anchored this
way, I am free to love without condition. I am free to love without fear of
being hurt and rejected. I am also free to combat our
human tendency to act like I have it all figured out; like life can
be organized neatly into pinterest boards and facebook posts. It can't
be. Life isn't quite so clean; it is messy. It is full of broken people,
relationships, and plans. But it also full of unspeakable joy, wonderful
friendships, and glorious blessings.
Social media has
only perpetuated this problem. Today alone I saw that my friends have
made soup from scratch, knitted a newborn hat, won an award, finished building
a dream house and much more. But there is more to these stories.
There is more to what we post. There is the finger that was burnt
while making this soup, the orange juice that was spilled every where by the
two year old while she sat to peacefully knit, and the years of work that went
unrecognized before the award was granted. I am guilty of this, I post
pictures of my boys being best friends but omit the moments where my three year
old is screaming in timeout from hitting his baby brother in the face.
These moments are important- perhaps even more so than the
sweet ones. These are the ones where your character is shown, prayers are
pleaded, and lessons are learned.
And so, lessons are
being written on my soul now. Lessons of how I am loved, FIRST by Him. Lessons
of vulnerability and a commitment to be authentic. Lessons of knowing
that no one has it together an the beauty in that. We are anchored in
Christ, imperfect in ourselves and this becomes beautiful when we accept, embrace
and highlight where these two truths meet.
[In the interest of
remaining true to this post, I should note- I found this beautiful image of
gorgeous leaves HERE. I was too busy pushing my toddler in a
stroller, carrying my over-tired, crying baby, and sweating to get my camera
out. The leaves where still beautiful and a good part of the walk was peaceful
before chaos erupted again. :) ]
