I Don't Want To Forget

So, this post is completely for me.  Because I don't want to forget where I am, at this moment, in this place, with where God has me. 

I'm not going to lie, the past 7 months have been hectic.  Like, "I wish it was a year from now" kind of hectic.  It's not that I want to wish my life away, it's just that things had been going so smoothly for most of 2009 that something was bound to come up... and when it did, it came like a storm.  And I want the rain to stop.  End of story.

The good news is that in the midst of everything, in the midst of craziness, in the midst of tears, in the midst of uncertainty, in the midst of trying to make sense of... well, anything at all... God has still shown His faithfulness.  I know He's here, I know He has plans to prosper me and not to harm me, I know that He loves me and that He wants the best for me.

So, how do I know this?  It's simple: He's shown His faithfulness, love, and provisions in the past and He's never broken a promise.  Ever.  With anyone.

And right now, at this moment, in this place, God has me in a place of waiting.  And I'm ok with that.  Because I'm waiting on Him.  Each time He's closed one door to something I've thought I wanted, He's opened another to something even greater (I wanted to go to the Naval Academy, for real.  But God wanted me at Clemson (my absolute last choice) and now, I can't imagine my life without Clemson in it).  And in this time of waiting, He's showing me so much of Himself it's CA-RAZY.  I have people around me that love me, who take the time to listen and tell me not necessarily what I want to hear, but what I need to hear.  I'm also getting more and more chances to take pictures and am learning SO much in the process.

So, to my future self: thanks for waiting.  Wasn't it worth it to hang in there and wait for all of the pieces to come together?  Aren't you glad that you didn't jump the gun and try to control and manipulate situations in order to force things to happen?  I know it's been hard and the road has been long but the lessons learned along the way have undoubtedly made all the difference.

And to help remember this place, here are a couple pictures from the weekend...

My friends Buck and Katie just had their third little one a week ago, on Mother's Day no less!  And this one just makes me smile.  Love it.

I had the privilege to second shoot a wedding with the fabulous Jana Candler yesterday and here's one of the 800 pictures I took.  More will come soon!