Just One More Photo… HAHA!

Apparently, this started VERY early.

That little girl holding a camera? That's me. And I LOVED that camera!

I took photos of everything. What, exactly? I have absolutely NO memory! I don't know whether they were good, blurry, crooked, or mostly my own fingers. HAHA! I sure wish I had some of them today.

But I remember loving it.

This was back in the days of FILM. You couldn't just take a picture, look at it, delete it, and try again. You had to finish the roll and get it developed before you could see what you'd captured.

And apparently… all of that cost money.

Who knew?! Certainly not little me! HAHA!

My dad was so generous. He kept taking my film to be developed and getting me another roll. Looking back now, I'm truly grateful. He gave me the chance to keep exploring something I loved, long before I understood what went into making that possible.

I wonder if he had any idea what he was starting…

Because the picture-taking has NEVER stopped!

Ask Chuck. Ask my friends. If you've spent much time with me, you've probably heard:

"Wait… just one more!"

Which, of course, doesn't necessarily mean ONE. HAHA!

I take sooooo many photos of the same thing. Just in case! A slightly different angle. Different light. Maybe this one will be better. Or the next one…

Thank goodness for digital photography!

And I don't just photograph people or beautiful vacation views. Oh no. My camera roll includes leaves, a crack in the sidewalk, the texture of a blanket, my beads…

You know. All the important things! HAHA!

Something catches my eye, and I want to save it. Sometimes it's the color. Sometimes a pattern or a tiny detail. Sometimes I'm not even sure what I'll do with the picture. I just know I want to take it.

I'm truly thankful for my BIG camera and all the memories I've captured with it. But these days, I'm especially thankful for my iPhone camera.

It's right there when I notice something—and a whole lot easier to lift than that HUGE camera!

The equipment has changed quite a bit since that first little camera. But the excitement of seeing something and wanting to capture it? That part feels very familiar.

Looking at these photos, I can still recognize that little girl.

She didn't know whether she was any good. She wasn't worried about what she would do with all those pictures. She just loved taking them.

And here I am, all these years later… still loving it.

It reminds me of this verse:

"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

—Psalm 118:24, ESV

Taking pictures is one of the ways I enjoy the day God has given me. It gets me looking a little closer—at the people I love, the places I visit, and the little things I might otherwise walk right past.

I'm grateful my dad kept buying the film. Grateful someone took a picture of that little girl with her camera. And grateful I still get excited enough about a leaf to take WAY too many pictures of it.

Some things really haven't changed! HAHA!

What did you love doing as a child that still brings you joy today?