I’m thankful for photographs.

Remember when you (or your parents) took pictures on a roll of film that held 24 photos? You never knew if you had good shots until you got the photos back in an envelope from the drug store. I remember anxiously waiting for pictures to come back. Then, looking through them with friends and family and actually talking about the moment captured in the photograph.

Now, digital cameras make it easy to take 100 photos in a few moments. You can upload them to Facebook and your friends can look at them instantly. I love this, but I hope this instant access doesn’t diminsh the value of a photograph because pictures tell us so many things.

They are magical. They let us feel and smell and see and touch all over again. I went back through some old photos to give you some examples.

A photo can take you to a place you never could have gone to experience a moment with people you love:

A photo can let you see the moments right after you came into the world… and compare how you looked to how she looked in that moment:

A photo can let you see how they looked then and how they looked 50 years later:

And they remind you how much he loved animals:

A photo helps you remember how close you really used to be to the middle brother:

And how much you really do look like your youngest brother:

Or they can serve as proof that you really did cry all the time back then:

A photo can let you know how his suit was way more awesome than yours on the special day:

A photo can help you remember how cold it was, how beautiful she was, and how much fun you had being kids again:

Photographs are magic. They are a gift from God. And I am very thankful for them.

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