treasuring.

the other night my friend hannah hosted a going away party where i invited my dear friends. and i had great thoughts about capturing the last moments i'll have with my friends for 3 months.

but I forgot.
I forgot to wip out my phone and snap a few photos of me and my friends.
I forgot to capture the last times that i will be with some of them for a while.

but, this got me thinking.

while pictures are great, sometimes they can be distracting. i had a great time hanging out with my friends the other night. i wasn't distracted by needing to snap pictures. i focused on the relationships instead of capturing the moments in a camera roll. which was beautiful. i loved treasuring the friendships and being fully present with them.

but, i still don't have pictures of me and my friends.

okay, so probably at this point, you're thinking you didn't come to this blog to hear me complain about not getting pictures. its really not a big deal. you're right. i'll survive. and my friendships will survive.

here's my point. up to just a few years ago, we didn't have easy access to pictures like we do now. I actually remember film and negatives, haha. and if you go all the way back 2,000 years to when Jesus walked the earth, there was no such thing as pictures.

(so yeah, me not getting pictures of a few friends is really not the end of the world)

because our culture is so focused on pictures and videos, i think we have lost how to truly enjoy the gifts God has given us, like our friendships. it is easy to snap a picture and remember. but we have lost how to truly treasure the life we've ben given.

in luke 2:19, the shepherds just left mary and joseph after visiting and worshipping the newborn baby Jesus. and luke tells us that "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." mary didn't even have the option of capturing this amazing moment with a camera so instead she enjoyed the moment, treasured it in her heart and praised God for His gifts and His goodness to her.

how much do you take the time to ponder and treasure the gifts that God has given you? or are you like me and think that you are treasuring it but really you snap a picture and move on?

now, i'm not saying that pictures are bad. i'm planning on taking pictures while i'm in mexico. i'm also planning on sharing them on social media. but when sharing our pictures becomes more important than treasuring the memories and praising God for His gifts and goodness, than maybe it's time to set aside the camera (or phone) for a while and truly live in the moment.