“The mother not in the pictures {because she is always the one taking them}, is, in fact, MORE in the pictures than everyone else.”
That was a God-thought in my heart that hit me out of nowhere the other day.
I didn’t give it much thought then, but He repeated Himself again today.
My mom just gifted my daughter with her hand-me down computer, and an embroidery machine so that she can keep practicing what she’s learning from her grandma. 💕
So just now, I was upstairs checking out her room which she had freshly cleaned, to make room for these things. And I see the screensaver that had been my mother’s. A picture of me and my three siblings. Love.
I had a flashback to going through old photo albums and thinking that I wished I had more pictures with my mom when I was little. She wasn’t really a picture taker, that was more of my thing. (And over the years since I’ve been old enough I’ve probably taken enough for everyone in the whole family lol. My iPhone storage would attest to that. 😆)
I also remember reading some blog posts about the subject of mothers in photos. How we aren’t in them enough because we are always the one taking them. How many mothers wish that their husbands, or someone- anyone- would capture candid photos of them with their kids. Not posed, but photos simply in the moment, because when a mother is engaged with her children, that is when her most beautiful self often emerges. (Our kids have a way of drawing out both extremes of emotions don’t they? 😉 It’s because we are very passionate about them!)
I also recall the last time my daughter cleaned her room. She had just created this photo wall with pictures she had.
There were photos of her with her daddy (lots of them), of her with her brothers, with family, with friends, with old classmates.
But not one single photo of her with me.
And I know it sounds silly, but my feelings were hurt, and I blurted out a comment along the lines of “Guess Dad’s your favorite, huh?”
(It can really feel that way sometimes, especially when Mom is the homeschool enforcer, and Dad is the fun softball coach. When Mom is usually the serious, and Dad is usually the playful.)
Her reply was that of course she didn’t have a favorite, it’s just that we don’t usually print pictures out. AND that she has more photos with everyone else because I’m usually the one taking them.
And that was the end of that conversation.
But a few weeks later, I was enjoying watching my children play together, and I reached for my camera and that is when God gave this insight to me:
“The mother not in the pictures is MORE in the pictures than everyone else.
More than on the surface,
More than what she looks like on the outside,
You can SEE who she is through the pics that she takes.
You can see a glimpse of her HEART!
Just look!
What do you see in the photos you’ve taken?
LOVE.
The dozens of pictures you took and can’t bear to delete, even though they’re similar, because different facets of your kids’ personalities were caught in different frames.
Delight. Adorable pucker. Silliness. Sweetness.
You relish every facet of your children.
And your husband.
And your loved ones.
Don’t you?
Do you see how that actually captures your essence more than a photo with your face in it?”
Me- “WOW. Yesssss.”
God- “Now that you know this, can you see ME in your pics?
In the photos that have been taken of you,
instead of judging yourself by the physical flaws you see…
by seasons of teenage awkwardness,
or motherhood with its extra pounds…
whether good hair day,
or messy bun and getting it done…
Look past the subject of the photos,
and you can SEE the heart
of the one who captured it AND –
another level out- the One (Me)
who created you both!
Zoom out in your perspective,
examine photos like that,
and I think you’ll learn a lot about love.
I think you’ll feel more loved,
by your momma,
and by me,
than you’ve ever felt you’ve been loved before
Not that I felt unloved.
But we can always enjoy feeling it more can’t we?(Plus- “love you more than you’ve ever been loved before” is something my mom has been saying since I was a tot. 💗)
Today, booting up the computer with the picture my mom took of my siblings and I, right under the wall of photos in my girl’s room that I took, it all came together beautifully.
And it really touched my soul.
So much that I had to take a moment to share.
For any other mommas who may wish they were in more photos.
Or who tend to judge themselves too harshly when they ARE in photos.
Or who forget (or maybe have never realized at all), in the seriousness of life,
how lavishly they really are loved:
Make a gallery of photos.
Ones you have taken
and ones others have taken of you.
Look past the surface and learn.
See with new eyes!
Caption each photo with His goodness.
He is so so good.
And you are so very loved, beloved.
(And as a soul check, take a look at your camera roll. The photos that we capture, often tell a story of what we are currently valuing most. Is God in any of them? Quotes about His love, moments that you have been aware of His Presence? I think, perhaps, He desires to be in our hearts as much as we desire to be in our loved ones’.}
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