What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. – Ecclesiastes 1:3-4

This passage came to mind while I was talking through this beautiful time lapse session. Mark and Kristy wanted to recreate a number of photographs from their engagement session (taken by Jesse Blank a family friend) with their daughters. The photos capture how time has changed in the 5 years since the anniversary of their engagement.

We were able to go to the exact location where the original engagement images were taken.

I couldn’t get the passage from Ecclesiastes out of my head during the session. The pain in Solomon’s words is so apparent, but that isn’t what made these verses come to mind. It was the sharp contrast between Solomon’s words and the Brubaker family’s heart. Solomon was in pain over the life not lived, over mistakes made, and over moments lost. This couple chose to embrace the toils of their last 5 years together, and wanted to create reminders of how precious those last 5 years were. There were hard times, and sad times, and angry times, but the seasons of love, giving, and blessings were there too. In Ecclesiastics 3 Solomon writes

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heave”.  

…a time to break down, and a time to build up;
 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance…

For Mark and Kristy it was a time to thank God for the last five years together, and a time to look forward to the next five years in their life as husband and wife.