Framed and Stoned

Early in our marriage, I established an annual family tradition - the Rowan family photo session. Over the years, "annual" became a flexible term, depending on finances, motivation, and scheduling. Family photo day, though, has often been a day of dread and obligation for our crew. Why is it that people who spend hours of their day hamming it up for the camera at home are unable to do the same when their mother needs them to?!

It has been two years since our last family photo session, and I could not let it pass by any longer! Children change so much in these young years, and I want to have that growth documented. On Sunday, we headed out to a construction site in hopes of capturing all the little faces in a smile - at the same time - just once.

Thanks to my beautiful and talented friend, Loni (of Loni Bourne Photography), our photo session was absolutely painless! Loni was FAST - in just over half an hour she got at least 300 shots. She was able to capture each of the kids in moments when they were posing themselves, so we didn't need to beg and cajole anyone to "stand here" and "look there." For their awesome cooperation and participation in mommy's annual tradition, the kids earned themselves a yummy ice cream.

I find that our daily lives are full of frame-able moments. I would love to capture the moment when an older sibling imparts words of wisdom to one of the younger ones. Or the silly, giggling faces around the dinner table as we each try our hand at being the joke-master. Those moments in our lives when we know we have just witnessed the hand of God over our family. But those instances will have to live on as still shots in my mind, because by the time I get the camera the perfect picture has vaporized.

Instead I will take our latest 11x14 family shot and put it in the frame on the mantle, tucking it in front of the photos from years before. As I do this, I will gather the family around me to wander through the years. And we will remember as many moments as we can, captured in one still frame.

Lord, your faithfulness goes on through the generations! Thank-you for these children and for every moment with them. We praise You and You alone for where our family is today, and how You brought us here.

While I may not be able to take a snapshot of every instance of God's faithfulness in our lives, each family photo will be as a pile of stones - an altar of worship and praise - representing our family's journey with the Lord for the past year. The Rowan family Gilgal.