BY JENNI ENGEL, GRACE ATTENDER & VOLUNTEER
Last week, I had the honor of working with the Grace Church photography team to offer individual and family portraits for our Care Center Friends. The mission of the Care Center is to instill hope, dignity and sustainable change for all people in need while simultaneously transforming the lives of those who give and serve. As part of the Grace photography team, I get to see this mission, and the mission of Grace, carried out through my lens. I wish I could explain the honor that this truly is to you in words. I literally get a front row seat in capturing how God is moving in and around Grace. Most of the time, I am left speechless.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Care Center you need to. It’s hard to describe in words the compassion and love that radiates through the space through both our friends and our volunteers. To learn more about the Care Center visit, gccfoundation.us. If you are interested in volunteering visit, grace church.us/carecenter.
One of my favorite quotes is, “Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” -Elliott Erwitt
Friends, perspective changes everything.
When I delivered this image to my friend she held it and looked at it with a big smile.
She said thank you and began to walk away. I then heard, “excuse me Miss photographer.” I turned around and she embraced me with the biggest hug. As she held tight with tears in her eyes she said, “You have no idea how much this blesses me.” She went on to share that she has two photographs of herself. The one she had taken last Christmas by the Grace photography team and this one. I teared up a little too as we stood embraced in the hallway. It was a simple photograph but meant so much more.
In our iPhone saturated world, we take for granted how simple it is to document our daily lives. For most of us, yearly family pictures are a part of our world, even if it’s just for the Christmas card. This isn’t the case for our friends of the Care Center. Many don’t have pictures of themselves or their family.
God must have known I needed this moment. This moment of gratitude and simplicity. If you are anything like me you may have the tendency to make things more difficult than they need to be. All that was required of me in this moment was to show up, use my gifts and be present. I needed to be reminded of the honor and privilege it is to just be present and document stories… His stories.
God is always working, even if we have a hard time seeing Him. That is why community and our testimonies are so important. It’s also why the photography team at Grace is so special. Being a part of this team is a front row seat to the ways in which God is moving. You may have the opportunity to gift a family a family image or capture the life-transforming baptisms. You may end up documenting a prayer that changed someone’s life. You may document a moment that seemed insignificant and simple but brought tears to a person who stumbled across it. If you are a person who is drawn to documenting stories and want’s an opportunity for a front row seat in how God is working, come be a part of our team!
To join the photography team visit, gracechurch.us/photography.
“Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” - Elliott Erwitt
Now, It's Your Turn
Here is a little challenge for you this week. Find a way to take a step back and look at a person, situation or area through a different set of eyes. Take a picture & share how your perspective shifted. Just tag @GraceChurchIN and use #GraceChurchIN!
Also, you can check out more of my pics at joyfulexposures.com.