Shannon Holden Photography

Early this year, I learned about a family facing the unimaginable. Through my clients and friends, Mark and Ashley, I came to know of a man named Michael. Michael was on staff at our church, North Point Community Church, and was known as one of those all around great guys. He and his wife, Jen, had two very young boys. He was an incredible father, a loving husband, a loyal friend, and a man of God. And Michael had cancer.

At the time I learned about him, he and his family had recently learned that the melanoma had spread, and the battle to fight it was getting harder. Though I had not met him personally, Ashley had shared his blog with me, and the words I read there introduced me to a person who viewed every single day as an opportunity for something great. Even in the face of cancer, he turned his own face to his Father in Heaven, and rested on His strength in the battle. He lived with absolute certainty that God loved him and God was in control.

I didn’t know this family at all, but I found myself praying for a way that I might help them. One evening, Ashley contacted me and asked if I could squeeze their family into my portrait schedule. I felt in my heart that was God’s answer for me, and I told Ashley that I would be honored to photograph them. Michael’s wife, Jen, contacted me, and we talked about when to hold the session. Michael was undergoing treatment for the cancer, treatment that would wreak havoc on his body, so they asked if we could wait until he was doing a bit better. Part of me wanted to tell them not to postpone. But I didn’t want to be negative, while they were so optimistic, and I didn’t want to be the one to say to them, “Let’s capture your family portraits now, before it’s too late.” So I simply prayed for them daily, and hoped the time would come soon when we could meet.

One morning all too soon, Michael did not wake up. The lesions in his brain had caused a bleed. And in a blink, he was gone. I found myself crying over the loss of a person I’d never met. I thought of Jen and their two beautiful boys, and I felt I had failed them by not photographing their family in time.

In the months since, I have had their family in my heart and in my prayers so often. Our pastor spoke of Michael the Sunday after he passed, and I felt like he spoke of a dear friend of mine. On a later Sunday, I sat in the congregation and saw Jen baptized. From the first moment I learned about their family, their faith has shown like a beacon. Michael embodied everything Christianity means to me. As our pastor, Andy Stanley, said in our Christmas Eve service, it is knowing that there is more to this life than this life. It is knowing that there is something far greater than we can imagine beyond this life. It is knowing that we are forgiven and free, thanks to the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

When I shared my participation in the Giving is Awesome initiative, I received some wonderful submissions. Many brought tears, and all touched my heart. And then I received an email from Ashley, part of which I’ll copy here:

Our someone, you already know their story - Michael, Jen, and their two sons Kaleb (5) and Noah (who just turned 4). We recently had our NPCC family event Fall @ the Farm - last year they were a family of four and this year they were a family of three. Jen is a part-time teacher with the NP Weekday program. Kaleb started Kindergarten in the fall. Jen and Michael would’ve been married 10 years next June. Michael died a month shy of his 32nd birthday. Michael was on NP staff for a number of years, and unknowingly you have probably read something he has written. The questions that popped up after the sermon’s on Sunday to discuss in small group, most of the Source Bible studies, and the new Balanced Curriculum that will be released at the beginning of 2009 (NP’s version of a financial study). The melanoma cancer came and stole quickly. Unfortunately, Michael had not taken out a life insurance policy before he found out about his diagnosis so what Jen was left with was not much.

Obviously, my emotions have been so strong in this process. To be sure that I was being objective in my decision, I turned to some very trusted friends and fellow photographers to help me review the submissions, without offering them the backstory or identifying details of any of the candidates. The feeling was unanimous, that Michael’s family should be the winner. I pray that the images we create will echo the love he felt for his wife and children, and the love that lives brightly in his memory today, and the love with which God embraced him when He called him home.

Tonight and tomorrow, I will celebrate with my family the greatest gift ever given, a child born to offer us unconditional love and eternal life with our Heavenly Father. I will thank God for my husband and children, for the abundant blessings He has given us, for the precious moments that we easily take for granted. I will thank God for Michael, Jen, Kaleb and Noah, and what they have taught me in the past year, and what they will continue to teach me in the future. As happens so often, when we answer God’s call to be a small blessing in someone else’s life, we usually find that the greatest blessing is the effect that someone has on our own existence. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with this family’s beautiful story of Faith, Hope and Love.

Merry Christmas, Jen, Kaleb, and Noah. Merry Christmas, Michael. Merry Christmas, everyone.