Hello, Healing | Empowerment Photography

Healing is an extraordinary experience. It seems unfortunate that those of us who have to heal, had to go through pain in the first place, but there is no journey quite like healing. It teaches you about life and human beings so much more than any other form of learning ever will teach you. Those of us who got to heal from any kind of pain, sickness, trauma, shock or loss are actually sort of lucky. To wear your heart on the outside of your body for a while is something you'll never forget. And when you come out of the process you will be someone else entirely, but in a good way.

After this year and all I went through, I feel I have a new purpose to add to my life: to document the remarkable beauty after recovery and healing. Feeling whole after being broken is one of life's treasures. I am here to help you remember these moments, remember how strong and beautiful you are and how much you deserve to be happy. I can feel deeper and see richer than ever before thanks to the raw and wounded place I was in. I have been more aware of everything around me and I can feel those hearts that are living outside of people's bodies. I am gloriously broken. I am on my way.

For the first time (and certainly not the last) I asked my friend Serena to be a guest blogger for my website. She is feeling healed from a traumatic life experience and we wanted to share with the world that healing is stunning, healing is magic and healing is right here in these images; look at her! She is empowered. She is strong. She is faith. She is strength. She is whole again. She deserves all good things and she will have them. The world is hers now. If you have felt what it feels like to heal from something unspeakable and you have found the strength to carry on, then document that! Let's help others reach that graceful brilliant place. Here is Serena's story of loss and then her healing journey:

Utter Confusion. If I had to summarize the journey in one or two words. I thought he was my person. I thought his love for me was boundless. I know now that could not have been real love. As the years passed I can look back and say I see the red flags I ignored because I was too busy loving on him, helping and hoping for the future I always dreamed of for all of us. These red flags were mild and subtle and it wasn’t till time went on, they became more obvious. When I realized something was wrong, I sat back and thought anytime I had ever gone to him with a feeling or to ask for help, somehow I walked away from the conversation with him being angry or cold followed by days of silent treatment. The invisible treatment was something that became a normal part of my life. I expected. For everyone involved sake I'll save some of the other gory details but it took a toll. The lies started to come, not white little lies, like huge things, life changing things. The mask fell. And what was left was someone I didn’t know period. Its surreal. Still is. We're not talking 15 or 20 years of marriage here and people grow apart, were talking a few months. I truly felt like I did not matter, I felt so insignificant. When I started educating myself on what was going on not to far I was mind blown. It was everything I had been experiencing. It had terms. These actions had names. And this journey became my focus along with my faith in the Lord, self care, self reflection, digging deep and lots of prayer.

My faith is the Lord is strong. I believe our purpose here is far more than any of our own fulfillment. Nicole, being my photographer for years, first capturing my son and I in life, and then all of my new family together was not by mistake. God knew our purpose in connecting was much bigger. She shares a similar experience. I was blessed that she and I stayed in contact and I was able to help her as I was on my way out of this journey she was on her way in. I was able to speak faith to her, share my knowledge resources and my journey. She's a beautiful amazingly talented artist and am so thankful for her and our journeys colliding.

It was a painful yet beautiful journey. The beauty is in the now. The pictures signify that. When I look back at think how insignificant I felt to someone that I truly gave everything to, how I didn’t matter… makes me so sad for that version of me and how I felt then. But now for the first time I really know how much I matter and how significant I am. I am putting myself first for the first time in a very long time and I have a confidence I never had before. This journey has taught me so much about myself…. who I am, why I am the way I am…. how to be the best version of me. And most importantly this wasn’t my fault. And when you're really out of it, you can see it clearly, this really wasn’t even his fault. This really could have changed my view of love but ironically it hasn’t.. I still have just the same big heart ready to love someone deeply with just a lot more knowledge . What I would like people to know if any of these discussions sound familiar to not overlook. The sad but painful truth is these people don’t change, they cant. That little piece of knowledge alone made things so much easier to move forward. Know your worth ladies, I'm so blessed to have found mine. -Serena