This is my favorite photo from my son’s wedding. After the vows and rings were exchanged, my son moved the couple’s joined hands to rest on his new son’s shoulder. I was graced to capture a pure act of tenderness and love hidden from the view most witnessing the nuptials. I had a similar impulse the day I married my son’s father. As I often told him, while I did not give birth to him he has all my “mother loving” as if I had.
Too often the terms “step parent” or “step child” conger up stereotypes of troublesome or dismissive relationships between people who are unrelated by blood or tribe. I wish images of loving familial connection like this picture with my son’s new family were the typical understanding in the culture. Choosing each day to love a child as your own reveals unimaginable graces of kindness, joy, courage, and fortitude.
Graceful Intersections 