the long farewell

Tina and I are [literally] packing our bags as I write this to go to shoot Jennifer and Eric’s gorgeous wedding in the foothills of Tennessee. We are super excited about the amazing weather coming our way for the next week. I mean, who doesn’t love fall?  Get outside this weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather; picnic’s, runs, patio dinning, reading, or just sit outside because in a month or so we are going to have short, dark, frigid days. That’s why Christmas is in December, because it’s such an ugly month. Now if only we could figure out what to do with January and February…..

I promised to blog and wanted to leave a sneak peek up of Eric and Sophia’s family session we did a few weeks ago.We literally lost track of time while shooting their family. I promise I’ll post more in the weeks to come.

Tina and I were fortunate enough to spend some time with Josh over the summer and take some senior pictures.  It was great time of just talking about future plans and his last year in high school. I remember being in high school and having no clue what I should do, where I should go, or what I should be.  The funny thing is that those same feelings of being unsure of what’s next seem to haunt most of us till we die. Maybe it’s because we put so much stock in what people think, or that we are paralyzed with fear of failing, or maybe it’s just because we are afraid to take risks and we are always looking for that affirmation that isn’t readily given. All of those things have haunted me at one point in time and still do. One thing our culture has done really well is teach us to embrace independence and individualism to the point that we always have to act like we have it all together. I don’t know about you, but I take great comfort in hearing people share their insecurities, fears, and weaknesses. People are drawn to the vulnerability that people share about what they did wrong and what they learned. The last guy most of us need to hear from is the one who has done everything right his whole life. So we find ourselves paralyzed to make decisions because of this fear that has us in a choke hold. Most of us wander around trying to figure out our purpose in life and what we should be doing. I heard a guy talk a few weeks ago about how if we are solely focused on loving God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves, then God’s desires will become our desires. Live a life that pleases God; live a godly life. What consumes most of our time reflects what is most important to us; it’s either ourselves or God. What if we were to spend a little less time consumed with ourselves and a little more time consumed with God?  I think we’ll be a little closer to his heart.

I think Josh is one of those guys who gets it. As Tina and I were able to share what we have learned along the way, we were able to just have great dialogue about what really is the most important thing in life. It doesn’t matter about education, money, careers, family, relationships, or status. At the end of the day, they are all endless pursuits. Chase  the One who never ends.