This is my friend Breland, Rachel Breland. Less than a year ago she was diagnosed with a grade IV Glioblastoma Multiforme, read as: brain tumor. You can follow her journey to kick Glioblastoma Multiforme tumor’s ass here. On June 2nd her and a few friends will be doing the 2012 Brain Tumor Walk in Denver. If you’re interested in supporting her and the National Brain Tumor Society you can donate to her team here.
Before the new year Rachel and I did a little photo shoot. Below are a few shots from our time:
I haven’t shared much personal stuff on my blog. Probably mostly because it’s just intimidating for me to get my thoughts out into words…Sometimes it’s hard for me to even understand what’s going on inside my head let alone share them. It just seems silly. I don’t know if anyone even looks at this thing, but that’s ok I’ll share anyways. These past few months have been the hardest of my life, for lots of reason. It’s been a time of really testing my faith. A time of really putting what I say I know to be true about Jesus to the test… about this life, who he is, who I am, why we’re here… all of it. Some days it seems like I’m back on track only to wake up and feel like I’m right back at the bottom again.
A friend of mine hiked the Appalachian trail, all of it, from start to finish. It took her over six months. At the start of her journey something went very wrong with her foot. A nerve was being squished and with every step she had shooting pains. She had to keep moving forward and had a lot of miles to cover each day in order to reach her destination. It was difficult.. with each step excruciating pain would shoot up her body. every.step.there.was.pain. so much pain. When she thought she couldn’t go any further, the pain was too much, God would ask her – “Sarah, can you move your foot to that rock over there” and she would have to answer “yes, I can”. When it was time for the next step God would ask her the same question “Can you move your other foot over there?” and she’d have to answer “yes”. With that conversation she made it through each day and to the shelter each night. (You can hear her tell this story herself here.)
I think about this story often. Can I take one more step? Can I do one more day? The answer is yes. And with that I know my roots are growing down deeper. Just because something doesn’t feel good doesn’t mean it’s not right. He’s in control… there’s work he wants to accomplish in me and work he wants to accomplish through me in others. I’m deciding that this reality and truth is enough for me… I’m choosing to believe God is amidst my pain and choosing to take the step he’s placed before me. Fear and discomfort don’t get to bully me around. I will not abandon the work god is doing in my life because it is painful. I will not say what is good is not good because it hard.. I will keep moving that foot forward one step at a time. And His work will be accomplished according to gods purposes in my life. Proverbs 1:1-8
I know Gods moving. I know he loves me. I know he has a plan and with these hard days he is growing me. With true sorrow we understand true joy and with that I’m excited. I’m excited for the joy and for growth… I am thankful. God says all over the bible “Do not be afraid” .. all over! “For I am with you” I hold on to that as I move forward, as I take one more step.
“These are the days that must happen to you”- Walt Whitman
Happy 2012… It’s been a pretty rough year thus far. I broke my leg in three spots on the very last day of 2011. So with a cast up to my thigh my days have been filled with lots of frustration as I can’t do much at. I definitely haven’t been able to go out and shoot so I haven’t had much to share. But he other day I was going through some old photos so I thought I’d share a couple of those.
These were taken on Heidelberg Street in Detroit a few months ago. It’s a really cool art project in the heart of Detroit “The Heidelberg Project offers a forum for ideas, a seed of hope, and a bright vision for the future. It’s about taking a stand to save forgotten neighborhoods. It’s about helping people think outside the box and it’s about offering solutions. It’s about healing communities through art – and it’s working!” If you’re in the area I recommend checking it out.
This year, like many people, I fell in love with instagram. Here’s a recap of my year, in instagram form, with a few of my favorite images from 2011. Looking forward to the new year!
(All of these photos plus many more can be viewed larger over here.)
I’ll be in Michigan for the holidays and I’d like to take some photos! If you’re interested email me at hello@kristineridley.com
A few months ago I went to Seattle to visit a dear friend. Here are a few images I captured:
Happy Halloween! It’s never been my favorite holiday.. but I do love pumpkins, and crunchy leaves and well.. basically everything about the fall. Last year Lindsay and I went to the pumpkin patch to do a little photo shoot. I waited too long to post them last year and if felt weird posting them in the middle of the winter. So I waited and waited.. and now.. here they are. Enjoy!
