Extravagant Love

I still have a lot to learn. I will always say that.

In 36 years of life one begins to take note that there are moments that cause you to step out of the environment your are in and be an outsider looking in because you need to appreciate the bigger picture. This is what happened for me when I took these photos for Amber and Dan last week.

I struggled to find the right spot, with the right light, with the right background, etc. as I started their session. The first 5 minutes or so, I was very worried that I was going to have to use a flash with these 2 little children. Now that might not seem like a big deal but my battery pack broke recently and I need to get a new one, so that means that I can only take 1 photo about every 10 seconds. So this is not a good situation for these 2 children who love to move and giggle. So I begin to pray for wisdom and help. It took about 30 seconds for the light change, a very large cloud blew in front of the sun. That cloud stayed in the same spot for 45 minutes even though we had a breeze the whole time. Plus the sun was just kissing the bottom of this cloud so that I had just the right amount of light touching their faces, no squinting eyes, just perfect light, and perfect background sky.

Now I am no genius and I do plan my sessions well, but I want you just consider for a moment that God heard my prayer and gave a blessing to Amber and Dan. This couple has honored God, each other, and their family with each step they have taken (and it hasn’t been easy for either of them as many may think) and when you have a life surrendered to a loving God he will do things just to bless you. I say all this and I title this blog, “Extravagant Love” because when I look at these pictures it is like I can see God kissing the sky with light and coordinating the colors in the sky with the clothes Amber chose for her family to wear. Any other day a sunset from a storm would look like deep oranges, intense reds, and hot pinks on the sky but not this moment. It is so common to find this color in the sky after a storm that there are common phrases around it and yet, this night the sky was filled with periwinkle blues, white clouds, and pale blushes.

I can’t explain it, except that the love of God is extravagant towards us. We can’t make sense of how much God loves us but when we see the evidence of it like these images you just need to soak it up. I love the song, “Extravagant Love” by Amanda Cook and Steffany Gretzinger and as I was looking through the camera I couldn’t help but sing out these words, “You are the dawn that is breaking within me, You are the sun that is rising around me, Jesus. My Jesus!”

To Amber and Dan, I do see the dawn breaking within you, I do see the sun rising around you, and it is Jesus. It is a loving father that chose you both for such a time as this, to be set apart, and to raise the bar of what others expect from a family and the friendship that comes from a committed relationship with Jesus. Your sister in Christ, Rebecca

If you would like to see a slideshow I put together for them with the song “Extravagant Love” you can click on this link and it will take you there.

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