Frozen Moments

My dear friend giggled, “Come on you two.” Putting his arm around me, I tilted my head in and smiled all over. With a click and a flash, our very first picture together preserved our new found love. A few weeks later, this picture was on my college room wall. And now years later this picture is buried in our wedding photo album. We laugh at our youthful skin, and I smile at the glow in our eyes. I wonder:  Did I know I would marry him? Did he know he was going to marry me?

As the ice storm continues to pour more ice on the heavy-laden trees outside, I am buddled up inside, with grandma’s quilt and a cup of hot tea. I continue to flip through the photo albums and simply remember.  So many other pictures in the album preserve other special moments - the smooch at our wedding, dancing with my Uncle Fred, college graduation day with mom and dad, high school graduation party with Grandma, Aunt Shirley and Uncle Dale. Years later, some of these people are now deceased. I somehow wish I could jump into that picture and converse with them for just a little while.  I could hug my grandma one more time. I could listen to Aunt Shirley laugh or watch Uncle Dale enjoy one more piece of delicious strawberry pie.     

Pictures are like frozen moments in time reminding us of loved ones, starts and finishes of milestones and a chance to see just how far we’ve come.  I’m not quite sure how far I’ve come, but I know that I’ve had so many one loved ones that have blessed me and filled the pages of my photo albums.  We all are truly blessed with countless memories and precious people as we go along in the ebb and flow of life.

Do you have a picture of a loved one that reflects God’s love for you?