The Beauty of Generational Images
*original post written May 30, 2018. To see original post and images click HERE.
Some of us live nowhere near our closest family members.
My mum and dad? A country away.
Texas is home for my brother Lenny and his family.
All the rest of my extended relatives live south and southwest.
So when I got the message from Christie
— who hails Michigan as home —
saying that her mom and dad
— who call India home —
and her brothers
— who split time between India, Illinois and Ohio —
were ALL going to be together in the Chicago suburbs last week,
we kicked it into gear to capture their love.
Can I just tell you something?
It is SUCH a privilege to wander into someone else's family,
albeit briefly,
to capture the joy and personalities
and memories being made.
To actually spend an hour together
documenting this chapter of their family's story,
was tender and fun and a window into how their family does love.
We've been trying to get this particular extended family session
on the books for a couple years now
but somehow they couldn't all land on the same continent
at the same time.
14 in total.
2 grandparents.
3 siblings.
2 spouses.
7 grandchildren.
1 park.
1 promise of ice cream after the session
if the littles cooperated.
And.cooperate.they.did!
Great idea mom and dad!
I'm not opposed to appropriate bribery.
Ever.
Here's what 39 years of marriage looks like.
Thirty.Nine.
When I said,
"Give her a kiss, Emmanuel!"
This is what I got.
Giggles.
Squeezes.
Joy.
Pure joy.
While I don't know anything about their decades-old marriage,
I can say confidently
that their love is faithful and strong today.
You can't look at these images and deny the love.
Having never been to India,
I might have broken all sorts of cultural rules
when I asked Grandpa to kiss Grandma in public.
But he went for it.
And she giggled.
And he laughed and leaned in.
And they looked at each other.
And magic happened.
And while I never want to be morbid,
I know that some day,
when time marches on
and Heaven calls Dee and Emmanuel Home,
their kids and grandkids will treasure these images.
THIS is why I do my job and love my job.
I so want to capture the love and looks and memories
so that down the road,
the images will bring you back to earlier days
and priceless moments.
This family has a beautiful heart for India
and they run an organization called
India Rural Evangelical Fellowship (IREF).
They care for over 1500 children in their orphanage.
CRAZY AMAZING, RIGHT?
1500 kids.
One thousand. Five hundred.
At one time.
Let that sink in for one minute.
Honestly, I can't tell you how much that moves me.
One husband and one wife said yes to caring for the vulnerable.
They take LOVE seriously.
IREF is approximately 70 years old
and has served the people of the southeastern state
of Andhra Pradesh, India,
sharing the life-giving news of the Gospel
and bringing hope, education and emergency aid
to the town of Repalle and its surrounding villages.
I'd love it if you'd run right over to their website
and take a peek at all they do.
Sometimes you see God's heart wrapped up
in the gift of family.
Rebba family,
you are truly beautiful,
inside and out
and for a brief hour last Saturday evening,
I saw the face of God.
