[Insert some phrase that does justice to what I feel]

Tonight I caught up with two friends I hadn't talked to or seen in a long time and it was SO GOOD. The first of the two conversations I had was with a friend from Forest Home named Emily. Emily just got engaged to such a cool guy named Braden and the two of them are so ridiculously good-looking...it makes you want to throw up a little bit (in a good way of course :) ) and their story is so beautiful! I hadn't had the chance to catch up on life with her since, well....before I left the country in Fall of 2007. So much has changed since then in both of our lives....and I cannot even begin to describe how much I miss her and love her and how excited I am to know she's engaged to the love of her life! Braden and Emily will be married June 6th!! Dahhhhhh! My smile is making my face hurt! The thing that was such a blessing in our conversation tonight was the topic of redemption in our hearts. I think, sometimes, the term "redemption" in Christian jargon gets lost in the translation to our everyday lives. We hear it, we may believe it's true, and yet we have no sense of what it means in our own lives. Sometimes I get the chance to hear amazing testimonies from ex-drug dealors who almost died a million times in gang fights/drugs and alcohol and how they found Jesus...how He redeemed their lives and how they now live for Him in their "rough around the edges" leather jacket and studs kind of way....from those "other people" stories, I get somewhat of a sense of the definition and meaning of the word, but still it gets lost on its way from my head to my heart. She brought up how our hearts can be redeemed from past hurts and bad experiences and it was so cool to learn from her and bounce ideas and thoughts on the subject together...I miss those conversations.

The second conversation I had tonight was with Laurie....a lifelong friend who happens to be a smarty-pants studying Early Childhood Development/Psychology at Georgetown in DC. She's home for the holidays and leaving later this week. It was sooooo good to catch up on life with her as well. And again, the topic of redemption in relationships was brought up. I'm beginning to realize it doesn't take an ENTIRE life alteration for me to experience redemption first hand...I'm learning more and more that redemption could take place in friendship and in romantic relationships. I guess we read over and over in the Bible of how God redeems his love relationship with the Israelites and how it's just a bigger picture of what our relationship with Him is like. It's neat to see it fleshed out in my life and I have to say, I love it when knowledge of who God is makes the journey from my head to my heart. I love it when I can honestly tell someone why I believe what I believe and examples of it in my life....so my words "Jesus Loves You" aren't just words, and my orthopraxy can actually be....practiced.

You all might be wondering/thinking..."that's kind of a deep conversation to be having with yourself on the internet Kate." And, indeed it is. But this is just another facet of what I love to capture with my camera. I love to capture stories, and the story of redemption is something that resonates with every single one of us, whether we understand what has been redeemed or not. This is something I've found resonates with me when I think of the word "redeemed" and I'm still in the process of finding more areas where I've been redeemed, going through the process of redemption, or need redemption in. I love it when couples can tell me how they've found the meaning of Christ's redemption in their lives through relationship with each other. I'm always brought to tears when I hear a woman tell me their husbands are the hope they searched for their whole lives. And I'm moved when I hear a man tell me he's marrying the most beautiful woman he's ever met, that she completes him fully, and that she's helped teach him to be the man God created him to be. I love stories of completion and redemption. Brings a smile to your face eh? It sure makes me smile! My face is still hurting! Love you both so much and you've been such a blessing in my life!