I hit the brother jackpot (honestly... in sisters, too)! The one God gave me by birth and the ones God gave me by marriage. They care deeply about our boys. Even from a distance, they have been amazing uncles.
The brother in this picture, Monte, changed his address to heaven a little over a year ago. I am so grateful for pictures that pop up and take me back to the moments.
This picture was just outside Beaches and Cream Soda Shop at Disney's Beach club resort. It is a family favorite, and always on our list of places we like to visit when we are in Florida. Monte worked at Yacht and Beach at one point so he loved to visit. The staff would greet him like an old friend. Old pictures take us back.
I love going through vintage pictures of family and friends. You see how genetics are passed on the future generations in smiles, eyes, chins, nose, and how they stand. Everyone knows Chase looks like Randy, but the older Walker gets, the more I see my brother, Matthew, in him. The way they walk, talk... and heaven help us... think! We used to joke that I was raising his son and he had my daughter. Old pictures help us document the legacy of looks and even how family members resemble each other when laughing.
Sometimes I see myself in my cousin, Cheryl. Other times, I think I look like Aunt Bonnie... whom I called "Aunt Mama" because even nurses on the maternity ward thought I was her daughter when my cousin Tara Jo had her first baby. They told her, "your other daughter was here". Aunt Bonnie laughed. I am not sure she even corrected them. Aunt Bonnie and Mama are together in heaven and the old pictures become more priceless. Pictures preserve the details and sweep us back in time as we reminisce.
I am grateful I have lived in a time with photographs. The Love Of My Life has indulged me with a good camera and a few lenses. My phone is my camera that is always in my hand. When stuck in a waiting room, my photo library on my phone can take me on a sentimental journey.
You know, we all love a good picture when we get one. We all dread a bad one. I am reminded that our God is not fooled by picture perfect snapshots. He looks at the heart.
"The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7
This picture was a Facebook memory. I'm glad it popped up.
Today, I am grateful for pictures that take us back.
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