Between Photographs

I love photography. I don't have many pictures of when I was a child. The few pictures I have I treasure. At one of my dad's birthday parties my aunt brought me a bag of pictures that had dozens of snapshots from when my sister and I were little. I can't wait to find just the right picture frames to hang them in my hall. That is a task that I have been meaning to do for a long time. The photographs are still there waiting for me. Still ready to take me down memory lane every time I pull them out.  But what happens between the snapshots that we take? What does life throw at you that isn't captured by a photograph?

Last night my husband and I went to a Passenger concert. The concert was absolutely amazing. I could go on forever about the concert. On the way to the concert I looked at my husband and was really disappointed that I had forgotten my camera. About a year ago I took the plunge and invested in a good camera. I am still a novice photographer but LOVE taking pictures. You can capture so many things in a picture. However, the one thing you can't capture in a picture is the feelings. What was the emotion of the moment? Sure you see people smiling and laughing or making a sad face but what was the true emotion of that day? A picture can't tell you that.


It's been no secret that since my husband and I have moved to Fort Bragg we have had more struggling years in our marriage than good years. It was not an easy move. Couple that with constant deployments, four children, along with my midlife crisis and you have a recipe for disaster. When my husband and I said the words "I do....until death do us part" we meant them. Going to the concert last night was a conscious effort on our part to get back to us. Not the day to day chore list, kid schedule, school schedule, or OMG moments. Just us. As we stood listening to the music I couldn't help but feel a connection to my husband that words can't describe. A connection I haven't felt in a long time. We stood in the moment, with the music, and without being obsessed about getting the perfect picture. In a room full of people I felt like we were the only two there. (except for the people in front of us because I couldn't see over their heads) As I looked around the room everyone was obsessed with getting the perfect picture or selfie. People were constantly updating Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Have we become a society that is so obsessed with capturing everything on our phones that we forget to live in the moment? It would have been easy for me to have my phone out trying to get the best picture I could. Instead I chose to leave it in my pocket and embrace the moment with my husband.Well, to be honest I did take one picture. But only one.  It got me thinking that maybe we have become so obsessed with capturing every moment of the happy in order to avoid some of the more difficult parts of our lives. Don't get me wrong the happy parts of our lives are meant to be embraced and celebrated but so are the more difficult times. In the difficult times I learn the most about me, my relationships around me, my relationship with God, and who I need to be or what I need to change to be a better person. Those are the moments that happen between capturing the happy adventures.

There was a reason I forgot the camera yesterday. God knew that I needed to be in the moment with my husband. He had divine intervention for my relationship with my husband yesterday. You might not think that a simple thing like forgetting a camera could be divine intervention but I think it was. It forced me to recognize that life happens in front of the lens of my camera.  One of my favorite parts of the concert is when Mike (Passenger) asked everyone to put their phones away. He wanted people to be in the moment and not worry about video or pictures.

Last night I was reminded that life happens between the snapshots. God was reminding me that I will one day be able to tell my grandkids the story of seeing a band in person.The picture may not matter. The story might be more important to them. So I ask you.......what's your story between the snapshots? Will you focus on capturing every moment on your smartphone or will you be in the moment?