When things are meant to happen, they happen, we just have to show up.
Sarah contacted me almost two years ago wanting to be photographed. Sarah told me her incredible story as I marveled at her capacity to forgive, triumph over difficulties, and thrive in the chaos of life.
She was ready to have her photoshoot! "Let's do this!" Sarah said.
Then life swept in with a storm of experiences.
Illnesses, family emergencies, work changes, and obligations rolled into Sarah's life and demanded her immediate attention. So she put her photoshoot on hold. If you know Sarah, this won't surprise you. Sarah's devotion to her family, friends, and community is almost startling.
"How could one person be connected to so many," I've wondered. It's because Sarah is kind and genuine.
More than a few times I've sat back and felt gratitude for the kindness Sarah extends to every single person she meets. Sarah is known for bringing lasagna to mere acquaintances when tragedy has struck their home. She fundraises like a boss and goes all in on community and the people in it.
Sarah has personally sat with me and talked about the difficulties I was facing in my own life, offering compassion, understanding, and hope that things would be alright.
If you are in Sarah's circle of influence, she cares. She really, really cares.
If you know Sarah, you matter to her.
So it was because of Sarah's big heart and her love of others that her photoshoot sat on hold until, almost two years later, we found ourselves hours away from my studio in Athens PA and on a beach in New Jersey, a storm rolling in behind us.
Sarah ruled the grey, deserted beach that day.
With cold waves crashing around us and wind whipping fabric and hair, Sarah stood strong, resolute, and determined.
On that barren beach under blue-grey clouds, Sarah resembled the mythical gods of chaos, order, and power.
She was a woman unleashed and undeterred.
Sarah stood in foamy waves and lay in cold, wet sand as if this were an ordinary day. "This," I thought, "this is the force of a woman who has gone through the battlefield of life. What chaos could a storm bring that she hasn't already seen?"
Perhaps that is the real power of kindness. Or maybe this is the power of womanhood.
Or maybe this unusual combination of resolute determination with a smile is something unique to Sarah. No matter what, Sarah is someone that will stand by you in the storms of life just as easily as she stood strong in the storm of an ocean.
Sarah, I'll weather a storm with you any time, my friend.
Love,
Melinda
Private Photography Studio in Athens PA.
Serving Athens, Sayre Pennsylvania, Towanda Pennsylvania, Elmira New York, Corning New
If you have tips or concerns about human trafficking happening in your area call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) at 1-888-373-7888. NHTRC is a national, toll-free hotline, with specialists available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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