gypsy heart photography

family trip to destin florida,  2011

i was thinking today about the people in this picture.
as i write this, they are scattered through out the house doing there own thing....dude, doing homeowrk/snacking/&watching a movie (very effective multi tasker)  miss priss, in her bed with sweet dreams of purple motorcycles and pink ponies, the little mister is passed out on his daddy's lap...both mouths hanging open. dreaming.

i love nights like this. all is quiet, and normal, perfectly imperfect.
i love them. with every fiber of my being. each bit of them.
and i can't help but wish, in this very instant that they will all be just like this forever and ever.
never changing never growing...just always the same.
it's what i know. it's comfortable.

then, though i can't give you an exact moment,
i am certain that i have had this thought many times before.
and in those moments, i prayed for a pause button...
to savor it for one more second, to soak each member of my family up for one more instant,
just as they are. perfectly imperfect.

and in an instant it occurs to me...
 if things had never changed from the first moment that
i wanted life to "stand still" i would never have the moment that i am in right this second.
what a shame that would be. to have missed out on the surprises and gifts that i have
received from "change" and "the rocking of the boat"

the only thing that never changes- is the ONE who gave them to me.
the ONE who created them. WHO put them in my life one at a time,
 each in a moment of change...beautiful change.

HE is perfectly perfect.
so, in these times that i ache for things to stay the same, for these faces to never age,
for life to never wear on their hearts, i am given a promise by HIM...

"I AM."

I AM your constant comfort. I AM your help. I AM your father. I AM the creator of all things good.
I AM your yesterday. I AM your tomorrow. I AM unchanging.

Lord, today, i rest in what i have right now. i rejoice in the moment that you have given me.
i relish each stage that my perfectly imperfect family is in...
and i know that you have a plan for my future. a hope.
because you never change and YOU are perfectly perfect.