a pictures worth...

A thousand words right? Well what about the pictures that leave you speechless, and breathless?

For me, the pictures that command my attention and demand my silence are always the ones that I have taken. Not because I am even close to a pro photographer, but because in an instant I am transported back to the moment when I snapped that photo. For example, when I look at the pictures above, in one second I am back in Kenya, playing with the children at the Jami children's center in the Kibera slums. I can hear their rowdy voices and excitement as 6 Americans from Pennsylvania spend only a few hours of their time with them. I can see them crowding around the boys in our group and hanging on them like a tree. I can see the giant smiles they wear on their faces when they cant even understand the english words we are speaking to them. Our smiles create their smiles which only encourage our smiles. How can a child who has so little have so much joy when a college student in the US who has so much, complains about not getting the next best thing?

In a moment I am back in the safari van standing in awe at God's beautiful creation in Africa. I can feel the warm breeze on my face as the sun sets over the Masai Mara plains. I can see elephants and giraffes roaming in the distance and I can hear the grass rustling in the wind. I see my team mates around me in the van taking it all in beside me. A moment that only those 5 other people can remember.

Pictures have the ability to connect people. They connect the people who are in the picture to that moment in time, to that place where they were, and to each other. I love the way that pictures can remind you of growth. Not only do you see the physical changes that take place in people through pictures, but you are also given the opportunity to remember the personal growth you have experienced by looking at a picture.

 Highschool

 

 Freshman 

 

Sophomores

           

  

Juniors

Seniors

Looking back at these pictures reminds me of how much I have grown through my 4 years in college. They remind me of the amazing friendships I have made, and the multitude of ways that those friendships have impacted me. My walk with God has been strengthened so much because of these people and their commitment to walk beside and encourage me. For those of you reading this who were a part of my 4 years- thank you so much!

There is so much power in a photograph. For me, a picture is worth far more than a thousand words. Today, in a world that hardly remembers what it means to stop and smell the roses, a photograph gives you the opportunity to reflect on one second in time. A second in time that you may have breezed past the first time not fully understanding its value. So...

slow down,

take pictures,

and let yourself be transported into the moments of the past long enough to appreciate where you've come from, but not long enough to forget about where you're going.