Beth and Michael made the shores of Lake Norman in Jetton Park look like their own private island during our luxury engagement session with them. Their ensembles were thoughtfully curated along with an adorable boho-chic picnic set up. It looked like a shot straight out of Southern Living Magazine! The future Mr. & Mrs. Ernske set a new style standard for engagement sessions and it was purely iconic!
In every photo, you can see the ferocity of their attraction to each other, the confidence they both feel in their love and the excitement they share for their life together. While these two are undeniably photogenic, they best part about them as a couple is the quality of their relationship. This quality was developed through trial, as much as it was through the good times. It’s why Beth could tell us how she knew Michael was a man she could count on. He was there for her even when things weren’t easy.
It’s easy to focus our gratitude on the easy, fun and lovely things in our lives and relationships, but in truth it’s the hard times that show us what we are capable of together.
Don’t just be pretty…
The gold in a wedding band was not made as it was mined, it was first refined and purified, over and over by a blazing hot fire. It was only after this process that it was formed into the piece of art it is. Likewise, the diamond in your ring was once carbon, put under such intense pressure that it crystalized into the beautiful, light refracting gem that it is. It’s the same way with your relationship, the pressure and the heat make you into something beautiful! Something that can take light and reflect it and refract it back out into the world!
There’s a verse in the book of James that says to count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds, because it’s in trial when we become better people. Our faith and our love become stronger and more steadfast in God, in ourselves, in each other. When you go through trials in your relationship, consider that it’s a beautiful thing to be thankful for!
You and your partner can become a testament to the great beauty that is Love, itself. Let your love be tested and refined by heat and pressure! Then you can laugh and say “Bring it on!” to every trial that comes because you know your life will be brighter and better afterward!
By the way, the word diamond comes from the greek word Adamas, which means unconquerable or invincible. Don’t just be pretty, be invincible.
