My sister died last week, and I believe it's profoundly changing me.



She died of ovarian cancer, after discovering it only last summer. Unfortunately, the chemo didn't work for her, and she slipped away before any of us were prepared to say our goodbyes.

This doesn't seem at all fair to me, but I do believe in a God who has the best plan, even if we can't always see it. (Jeremiah 29:11)



Marla's family was way overdue for having a portrait done...they all live such busy lives that it was hard for Marla to pin them down. Fortunately, we were finally able to do this portrait on Easter Sunday this year when we all gathered together. It's sad that we had to do it under these circumstances, but I thank the Lord we were blessed with this window of time.

It broke my heart to see her cry when I brought it to her bedside only two days before she died. She could barely talk as she whispered , "Mark, that's so beautiful". Little did I know that would be the last time I would see her.

How am I being changed? My desire is to move to be more "time committed" to my family and friends... I seriously have no idea how long I have to be with them. Earlier this year when I realized that Marla's situation was pretty desperate, I realized that if I made the trip to Palm Desert to see her every single week, I'd still probably only have a handful of days left with her.

I have come to an even greater respect for the importance in a family's life for the value of what our studio does. Last week, I made a slide show tribute for Marla's memorial service, and it had so many portraits from our years together. For me, putting it together was a cathartic, and healing time that I will fondly look back on for many years.

Hug your family for me, o.k.?