A Time to Begin Again

Monday, July 28, 2014

Time. I’m a firm believer in the idea that there is a time for everything. I time to laugh and a time to cry, a time to speak and I time to be silent, a time to plant and a time to uproot a time to work and a time to rest….more recently, I’ve found that the past months have been a time to heal; a time to find rest and be refreshed. The blog has been silent for a while. I have been silent for a while and it’s about to change.

And I have found it bittersweet. I can’t begin to explain how much joy I find in photographing others. It is like that well fit glove. It’s where I find the Lord uses my talents and I feel fulfilled. And I have missed that these past months. I also know I needed the quiet and the rest.

Some of you already know that the past few years have been very full for our family, hence the silence around here. Sometimes full of joy like weddings and babies, but many times full of sorrow like cancer, and triple bypasses, fried harddrives (still crying over all of Levi’s first two years and Caroline’s first few months), homelessness (thanking my gracious parents for boarding the four of us while our house is finished ) leaving our church family, unemployment , kidney problems, and funerals . And don’t forget some more cancer and funerals in there too. We experienced numerous losses in more ways than one, and to be completely honest, I found myself broken. Weary. Worn. I found my time sucked up by trying to keep my head above water and trying to be there for family and not having much time to spend elsewhere.

Only twice in my life before have I found myself daily remembering, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” And I had to say it, or else I couldn’t keep going. I found myself in a place where I had to answer the questions “Am I going to walk away, or am I going to worship? Do I believe that God is loving, that he is wise, and that his mercies are new every morning?” And there are those things that I will never understand or know the answer to, but I can say that I have found him to be loving, I have found him to be wise, and I have found his mercies to be new every morning. And while the blog has been silent, and I’ve only done a little bit of photography work here and there, I believe that maybe, just maybe, I have seen the tangible heart of God. The heart that cares for the broken, that picks them up, and that carries them by his grace.

Finally, I have found my heart in a place to begin again. Not to start over, but to pick up where I left off. A part of me has been envious of other photographer during this time. Watching businesses flourish, which I am thankful for, but at the same time wishing I could put time into mine and knowing it wasn’t on the schedule. I have time to do what I love. The time away has given me a chance to evaluate where I want Heather Marie Portraits to go and what I want to focus on. I know for sure I do not have the desire to shoot weddings anymore. It also allowed me the opportunity to restructure the package and portrait options I provide. So be sure to stay tuned and be on the lookout for upcoming portrait dates and opportunities again.

I have been reminded that time, time is fragile. So use it to the fullest. Use yours to the fullest.

Here is a peek at what our life has looked like over the past months. It has taken me all this time just to cull and edit them.

Married a sister off…and gained a sister-in-law (My sister married my husband’s brother) Photo taken from their engagement portraits at the Highlands Mansion