Beauty for Ashes.. An Engagement Session Location

Beauty for Ashes.. An Engagement Session Location that went from Awful to Awesome.

Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

I find myself not knowing where to start when it comes to sharing what Nate means to me and the way he impacted my life, much like the day I met him.

The day I met Nate was the lowest day of my life. I had nothing to my name. I had lost it all except my little girl. I had no money... nothing and I mean absolutely nothing. I received a payment that week on an upcoming job. I took every penny of it and walked into a law office. There I stood at the receptionist desk, tears streaming down my face, pushing the check onto the counter, telling her it was everything I had, please take it, please help me. I was begging. I knew what I was offering was not enough. I knew that I could keep that check and pay a few bills or I could give it to her and pray for a miracle. As I stood at the desk explaining to the young lady what I needed, I saw a man in my peripheral vision. He was putting on his jacket and headed outside. I saw him look at me and continue out. 

The receptionist told me she would speak to someone and see what she could do, I thanked her and headed out to my car. Once I was outside, I heard a voice from behind me ask, "Hey do you have a second?" I turned around and saw the man who had walked past me earlier. He told me his name was Nate and he had overheard some of what I was telling the receptionist. He asked if I could share what was going on. I had no idea who he was but I began to share the story of what I was going through. He said, "I want to help you." I told him I have nothing. He assured me, "I know but I want to help you. We will deal with that later." 

I recently learned that a miracle is defined by a point of need and by faith you will receive it. If I had ever had a point of need, it was that day. God sent me a miracle in the form of Nate. I knew he had no idea what he was in for when he took me under his wing that day. He was an angel of mercy and he didn't leave my situation until it was over, until he had completed the task God sent him for. 

Nate was my divorce attorney. He journeyed through three excruciatingly difficult years of my life and if I had to guess, three of the most difficult of his career so far. When it was over I felt as though he had jumped in front of a train for me. There is no way to repay someone for that. I didn't know how to show him my gratitude but I knew the opportunity would come one day.  

A couple of years later I heard he had gotten engaged. I knew this was my opportunity. I messaged Nate and congratulated him on his engagement and upcoming wedding. I told him if he and his fiance were willing, I would love the opportunity to gift them photography for both their engagement and wedding. They both agreed and soon we began setting the details for their session. 

That's when I received, what I thought was, the strangest location request ever. They wanted their engagement photos taken at Stafford County Courthouse, the place where my divorce was finalized. I was thinking, why would anyone want their happy, loving engagement photos taken there? For me, it was a place of dread and doom. It was a place that I sat in the parking lot waiting to see what nightmare awaited me in that building. It was a place I never wanted to see again if at all possible. To Nate and his fiance Dana, it was the place they met and fell in love. I understood that and frankly, if Nate asked me to walk on hot coals while taking their engagement photos, I would have done it. 

The Stafford County Courthouse is a clean, pristine brick building. There is no age or character to the bricks, no wall art...just plain brick. I wondered how I would portray a sense of romance in the images.  As I began taking their photos that day, I saw how in love they were. Meeting Dana was amazing. She has a child like spirit of joy. Her excitement was radiating and I could just feel how much she loved Nate. As it often happens, I put the camera up to my eye and things started to change for me and that brick building I had disliked so much. I saw the place of two people who met at work, who fell in love. Stafford County Courthouse was not just a place that love had died, it was a place that love was born. It really is a beautiful building and as we walked around to different spots on the campus, I was able to see what they saw. For the first time ever, I didn't hate being there. Feelings of fear and anxiety were absent and feelings of happiness took over.

I am thankful to Nate and always will be. That day, I was able to add to the list of things I was thankful Nate had done for me. I was thankful he made me see it through his and Dana's perspective.

If you wonder just how much this day impacted me, I was married there three months later.