October 26, 2026
The annual family photo day is one of them. I try to schedule it a year in advance to get it on their calendars … aka eliminate excuses.
Way down deep they love me for it and want to do this. Haha! Yesterday was our annual day. Someday, they will love me all the more that we did this every year.
Even in the canyon.
With toddlers.
These babies are full of joy, giggles, and smiles about 23/7… on their terms. But that one hour when we needed everybody looking the same direction and smiling at the same time … everyone?
Well. We worked hard for it.
There was chasing, coaxing, animal crackers, and plenty of “Look right here!”
Rush-man and the Bluey song to the rescue.
I was reading in Ecclesiastes this morning and this verse jumped out at me:
“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Ecclesiastes 7:8 ESV
How many things that applies to and that verse hits a little different after yesterday’s family pictures adventure. 😬😳
The best things often ask something of us, right?
Patience.
Effort.
A willingness to stay when quitting would be easier.
Raising a family.
Keeping close.
Making memories.
None of it happens without some work.
Beloved … don’t ever mistake the ‘struggle’ for a sign that something is ‘wrong’.
It is the struggle that makes it right.
The struggle is simply the work of making something precious.
And yesterday, ‘precious’ had pasture dirt on its shoes.
In His Love and Light,
Angie