"Flying Free" is a very special one to me. Today would have been my mom's 71st birthday so I thought it a good time to share it with you. Here's why:
The Backstory:
I saw this image come into my mind in May, a few weeks before my mom suddently passed away. The image was so clear. I was all set to shoot it. Bought the white wig and everything! Decided the perfect outfit would be this colorful hippy-like jumpsuit my mom got me several years ago. I was even about to shoot it one day with a friend, but we decided on a different one at the last minute.
Then a few weeks later on June 11th my mom passed away suddenly. It was heartbreaking to say the least. We were very, very close.
That week I had a dream where I saw her vividly. With a big smile on her face, she was swinging from an amusement-park-ride-swing-thing-in-the-sky, her gorgeous silver hair flowing in the wind, flying free above all problems and pain. In the morning, I realized it was just like the image I had in my heart weeks prior, but so much richer…
I know everyone has a different perspectives about what life after death is like, but I believe with all my heart that my mom is in heaven with Jesus, that she is flying free and having fun, and that I will get to “fly” with her one day. Unexplainably, I believe so deeply that he showed up at the last minute, and she said yes to his grand invitation.
So much comfort comes from this for me, especially in this painful season.
I made this image to commemorate her freedom and to remind myself, and you too if you like, that freedom from the burdens of this world is for NOW, not just later!
And just to make you laugh, here are some behind-the-scenes pictures of this self-portrait on the beach:
"Flying Free"
Live anchored beyond this world so you can fly without fear or shame weighing you down.