This was a photo shoot designed to capture the beauty of 5 lovely ladies who have battled, or are still battling breast cancer. Not too long ago, Kim, from Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, emailed me and asked if I could help out with this. I must admit, I did hesitate... I am busy these days. And the turn around for the photos is super fast - but I said yes. You see, I lost my Daddy to brain cancer almost 12 years ago in August, and although I have wanted to do something to get involved, I just haven't - till now. And I know that taking pictures last night does not help brain cancer fighters, but it's CANCER... I don't care what part of the body it invades. It's bad, it must be fought, and it must be overcome. Sadly, my Dad didn't get to fight his cancer for very long. From diagnosis to his final going home was only about 4 weeks. I don't know why we didn't have to opportunity to really go to war against this invader, but according to a plan already laid out by God, our family had a short journey in our battle.
Getting involved to help others is about the only thing I can do now. So, when I was approached to do this, I just had to say, "YES!"
We had very enjoyable time getting to know each other on this hot, July evening. We decided to do pretty, outdoor, summery photos for this fabulous group of 5 women. When the ladies began to arrive, I had my kitchen filled with refreshments and snacks (thanks Mom!!)... they each needed a little time to share a bit about who they are, and where they came from. Val, Debra, Gail, Melanie, and Tina. Each with an individual journey. Each with a story of survival to share. It even turned out that Val was a student of Gail's ~ way back when...
There were only a couple of tears, but lots of laughter in the works for this evening. There is a matter-of-fact spirit that I noticed, each just shared openly - "this is how I dealt with it, this is where I am now.." all that good stuff. But the overwhelming thing about each lady was a positive spirit. Evidence, that a merry heart does make good like a medicine! (Proverbs 17:22)
I can't say enough, how wonderful and inspiring this photo project was for me to do. I am reminded that, cancer or no cancer, we have been given the gift of a certain number of days on this Earth. Are we using them wisely? Are we loving on our family? Are we enjoying what we do for a living? Are we making a difference in someone else's day? Are we laughing?? I'm all for that last one... There may be dark valleys along the way & I've been through some of those myself, in different ways. My precious Momma has fought a different health battle, but she is a survivor too. So, I guess I've been reminded of something here: we don't just survive to get through it - we survive for a reason: to inspire and bless others... kinda like these ladies just did for me.
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