My family sits on the poverty line. Some months our account dwindles low or hovers momentarily over zero while we wait for a paycheck. Some months we’re able to save. Our children are clothed and fed… well, when they decide to dress and eat :-p We carry no debt outside the mortgage and sometimes that’s the only reason we can stay afloat. And even though we have little, the Lord has amply provided for our needs.

It makes me think of this Shaun Groves song Enough.

“Please don’t give to me 
wealth or poverty
God, I ask only for enough.”

It’s early in the morning when I read this post by Ann Voskamp. I read about this mama a short plane ride away with 10 children and no toilet.

The poverty line in North American can sometimes be an oxymoron. I have three toilets and three kids; I have more than enough.

I hear this faint intense whisper calling me to sit and write: “Now, Melissa! Tell this God-sized dream now.” I want to counter His timing. I know I don’t have images to whisper this story with, but I know obedience is His definition of success.

So I take this shaky breath and I invite you to dream with me about changing the life of another mama living in true poverty.

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Mothers are always serving.  We’re in the kitchen.  We’re changing diapers.  We’re rocking someone.  Or kissing a boo boo.  Or whispering “You are loved- no matter what,” into the ears of those we love. There’s no cultural ownership on motherhood.  We all just keep pouring out what we were given into the next generation.

Mothers here in the US pick up their cameras or cellphones and serve by capturing these images of her babies growing strong.  She captures her husband wrestling with her boys.  She captures the impromptu ballet performance on the stage at Barnes and Nobles.

She creates these memories in images that her children will treasure when she is gone, but every mother forgets that she is her children’s real treasure.

And by holding the camera, mothers forget to show up in this visual record of her family’s stories. And regardless of how a mother thinks she looks, her children just see her as grace poured out on them.  As the heartbeat of home. She sees arms strong enough to hold her tears/fears.  He sees the one woman who always believes in him.

What if I could put you in your family’s visual record? What if you let me spend 30 minutes documenting how you love your children for this Mother’s Day?  

What if you by letting me record you with your children, you could give a mother and baby in El Salvador the space, the food, and the support to begin creating her own Mother’s Day story?  

If you’ve hung around this little blog long enough, you know a piece of my heart lives in the dumps of El Salvador: her name is Delsys.  And in this same country, there is a place run by Compassion International called Ninos en Victoria Child Survival Program. Young mothers living on the poverty line in El Salvador don’t always see their children reach their 5th birthdays.  My girls, who made me a mama, turn 5 in just a few short months; they are my light and my hope. I can’t imagine my world without them and their special brand of crazy joy 🙂

I have this crazy God-sized dream that if I photograph you to record your motherhood story, that together we can raise $500 to help women in El Salavador have their own motherhood story changed.

Soon I’ll be announcing a series of Mother’s Day Mini Sessions, where that will be the exact goal.

Interested in being photographed with your babies?  Interested in helping mothers in El Salvador help their babies live to their 5th birthday? I’ll be booking 5 Mother’s Day Mini Session on dates to be announced in both April and May.  I may add another date in early June if there’s enough interest.  I’m shaky here… just saying this dream out loud to you is almost more than I can manage… but when I hear Him call… I’m learning to obey and watch Him work.

Please sign up for my newsletter if you’re interested in participating in this crazy God-sized dream and would like to be notified of the details as soon as they’re available.