It seems to me, like in every part of life, there are times of great contentment, and times of struggle and longing. 

These last few months have been a crazy mix of both. Seasons of contentment where I felt like I was ready to be wherever God wanted me to be, where I was just so glad to be with and in Him, living in the here and now, and soaking up these days when He is doing so much that I never imagined He would do in a good, beautiful way.

And days where I feel like I'm failing. Am I loving? Am I soaking up? Am I serving? Do I know how to serve, how to love, how to rejoice, how to give, how to thrive? The answer is no, I don’t. But by grace, I am surely learning, day by day, hour by hour, week by week in the little moments that I hardly notice, in the days that we get to say 'yes' and 'amen.'

Last week, I was listening to a podcast on a topic that I have widely avoided for most of my life, because it felt unneeded. The topic being singleness. Which may sound funny, because I am a single person, and have always been.

There were seasons that being single was hard. The days that felt long, and the days that it has felt lonely, as it does. I think that that goes with the territory, that there will be some days that it is hard, that it is lonely, that it feels like it is grating on your soul, like this is how it will always be. But, through those days, and more than those days, there were days of peace. Days when I knew this was were I was supposed to be, to invest in the people I have here, to love, to serve, and to soak up where God has me now. Because this, right here, is the time that has been given to me. Not tomorrow. Not five years from now. Today.

That has not changed. Marriage is still a thing of the future. I am still striving to seek God where I am now, and striving to serve Him in all that I say, do, think, write and photograph. But there has been a change. The change being, that never before in my life have I ever been asked so many times about where my guy was, and if there was someone that has caught my eye, if I was married, and that was a change, because never before in my life has it been so blatantly put on my radar, just by questions being asked over and over again, throughout these months.

One of the questions I get asked on basically a weekly basis is if it’s weird that I spend so much time around couples when I have never even been in a relationship of the romantic kind. And the answer is no.

Nope.

Nada.

It’s not.

Because I get to see how God has woven their stories is such a beautiful, powerful, potent reminder of all of His goodness, how could I not rejoice in what He is doing, and pray with and for them, during this season? How could I do otherwise than rejoice and laugh with them, try to encourage with the gifts I have been given, because this, here and now, is the door God has opened to me in so many good and beautiful ways. This is where I am. And if not present, then where should I be?

That does not mean there have not been weddings that it has hit me, while I was there. That doesn’t mean that I am somehow immune to loneliness, but it does mean that I have somewhere to turn with that, and that I will still rejoice with that, because this is my field. These are the people that I have now to rejoice with, through this time. And holy cow, is that a joy, and one I am learning day by day, how not to take lightly. I am so, abundantly thankful that God has brought me here.

These last few years of working with couples, it cracks me up a little bit how far God has brought this, because as recently as 3 years ago, I was still saying that I wasn't going to be a couples' photographer and wasn't going to do weddings, because I didn't think I could do it well, and it terrified me. I had no business in taking pictures of couples. But I am thankful that God has brought about a change in that, and I am so incredibly honored by all of the wonderful couples I have had the joy of working with, because it has been a joy, and has opened my eyes to so much more of God's goodness, just in laughing with you all and hearing about all that He has done in you. And I hope, that along the way, maybe, it has blessed you too.

I am thankful, for the here and now. Thankful, for these doors that God has opened, and so, so excited to get to rejoice with you all, in the coming years, to celebrate 150 different little moments that remind us of the skill and attention to detail of our Creator. I'm thankful for the season of loneliness, and the chance to get to serve with my whole heart where I am now. That is a gift, through lonely times and easy times, that's a gift.

And I hope and pray, for all of my single-pringles out there, like me, that this season is a time of growth, of life and of abundant life for you through Christ Jesus. On the good days, and the hard. That you would grow and increase daily, and learn what it means to thrive, through Him, that He would teach all of us what it means to know Him.

God is good.

This year, I pray that we all learn how to invest our time in others, how to rejoice in Him, and how to praise Him on the mountain and in the valley just the same.

If we cannot teach our hearts how to rejoice and to seek Him during the seasons when we are alone or lonely, what makes us think that we will seek Him more once we are not, if we are not? We all truly do have to decide what to do with the time that is given us, and this time, is now. For better or worse, it is now. So stand up.