In 4th grade I thought my life would include being a secretary, a mom, a piano teacher and a nurse. I'd be married with at least 2 kids and 1 cat {I *hated* dogs}.
In 1999 I married the guy I fell in love with when I was 9 {it took him many more years to return my love…could it have been the gigantic peach glasses? or mullet-like hair?} Jonathan wanted a dog, so we got a kitten. I worked in a few places, all behind a desk and didn't like it. But I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. We had to give up our kitten, Jonathan asked for a dog, and I said no. For years we tried to have a baby, but with no luck. I said no again to a dog. I was finding myself having trouble functioning. Getting out of bed in the morning was a struggle, friendships were falling apart, and crying became a normal part of my day. I was at a point where I didn't care if I died. In June 2009 we had answers when I was diagnosed with Clinical Depression. After a few months on medication, I started to feel like I had hope…I was being lifted out of the quicksand. Jonathan asked for a dog. I said no. We went to the humane league to pick out a kitten instead.
June 2010 marked a turning point in my life. A year prior I didn't care if I lived, and now I was flying off to South Africa on a missions trip to the World Cup without my Love and with a group of strangers. It was there that I found my passion, Photography, thanks to my host family who let me borrow their fancy camera with lots of lenses! I started school a few months later, not knowing the outcome, just following the doors the Lord opened for me. Shortly after we learned it was unlikely we could have kids naturally.
I spend my days studying, taking pictures, dreaming of returning to Italy, England and South Africa, and wistfully thinking of the next country we'll visit. I still struggle with depression, and wondering exactly what the rest of my life will look like. But what I do know is that all of that doesn't matter. Am I following where God leads? If yes, then I just need to keep on going. If not, then I have to stop what I'm doing. I'm daily learning that I'm here to serve God, whether I'm a mom, a photographer, or {__fill in the blank___}.
Oh, and that trip to the Humane League to get a kitten? We came home with Charlie. A puppy.
In 1999 I married the guy I fell in love with when I was 9 {it took him many more years to return my love…could it have been the gigantic peach glasses? or mullet-like hair?} Jonathan wanted a dog, so we got a kitten. I worked in a few places, all behind a desk and didn't like it. But I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. We had to give up our kitten, Jonathan asked for a dog, and I said no. For years we tried to have a baby, but with no luck. I said no again to a dog. I was finding myself having trouble functioning. Getting out of bed in the morning was a struggle, friendships were falling apart, and crying became a normal part of my day. I was at a point where I didn't care if I died. In June 2009 we had answers when I was diagnosed with Clinical Depression. After a few months on medication, I started to feel like I had hope…I was being lifted out of the quicksand. Jonathan asked for a dog. I said no. We went to the humane league to pick out a kitten instead.
June 2010 marked a turning point in my life. A year prior I didn't care if I lived, and now I was flying off to South Africa on a missions trip to the World Cup without my Love and with a group of strangers. It was there that I found my passion, Photography, thanks to my host family who let me borrow their fancy camera with lots of lenses! I started school a few months later, not knowing the outcome, just following the doors the Lord opened for me. Shortly after we learned it was unlikely we could have kids naturally.
I spend my days studying, taking pictures, dreaming of returning to Italy, England and South Africa, and wistfully thinking of the next country we'll visit. I still struggle with depression, and wondering exactly what the rest of my life will look like. But what I do know is that all of that doesn't matter. Am I following where God leads? If yes, then I just need to keep on going. If not, then I have to stop what I'm doing. I'm daily learning that I'm here to serve God, whether I'm a mom, a photographer, or {__fill in the blank___}.
Oh, and that trip to the Humane League to get a kitten? We came home with Charlie. A puppy.
