Radford has officially turned from a bustling college town into a sleepy, quiet small town. The townies come out in the summer in little Radford pretty much as soon as the students disappear. All you can find from late August to early May are 18 to 20 somethings milling around, and once they leave for the summer, all of the families and the townies come out of the woodworks. It’s like everyone’s coming out of hibernation.
Since that is what is taking place here in my little town, it’s only appropriate that I tell you about one of my favorite students turned townies. Meet my friend Brooke. I’ve known her for four years now, her whole time at college! Now Brooke has this weirdly accurate memory and I’m sure could tell you exactly how we met and every conversation we’ve ever had in detail, but I’m going to focus in on the highlights :] Such as with many of my relationships with Cru students, Brooke is an entirely different women than the crazy eighteen year old girl I met in 2011. She’s maintained and held onto her spunky personality, her passion for telling it like it is, and her loud laugh. But, honestly, not much else is the same. She met Jesus in college and He has radically changed her life. People always talk about college being life shaping, and for so many people they allow college to shape them, drifting along with circumstance. And that could’ve easily happened to Brooke. She’s been hit by circumstance hard in college, she’s walked through things that most adults have never had to experience. But God was gracious to her, and Brooke was faithful. Instead of allowing circumstance to mold her into what it wanted to, she gave that power over to the Lord.
Her story isn’t mine to tell, but it is one that is full of grace and truth and beauty in brokenness. And Brooke would be the first to tell you that. She’s seen great victory and great heartache. She’s embraced freedom and grace and kindness and joy in places that it would’ve been easy to choose bitterness and anger. It’s a struggle, but it’s one she’s committed to fighting. She’s passionate about life and about soaking up all she can about Jesus. I’ve learned a lot about God by simply observing and walking with her through heartbreaking seasons, and I’m so thankful she’s in my life.
We took her senior pictures on two separate days, in two vastly different settings. One afternoon, just as the blinding sun peeked out on a stormy day and one cloudy evening, her giggling and smiling away in the middle of the mountains. These portraits feel so indicative of her time at Radford and now her time out of school in Radford. She’s seen the beauty peek out from behind the clouds of brokenness and hurt and she’s seen seasons of laughter and joy. And ultimately, she’s always decided to keep moving forward and keep clinging to Jesus.
Day one took place at Radford’s pretty campus.
Brooke’s got a huge passion for the Word going out to the world. I loved seeing the little touches of that in her session.
She makes it easy.
Moffett Quad on campus is so important to her time in college. Once a place of great hardship, and now a place that she loves and celebrates what she learned there!
And a couple weeks later, part two at Heritage Park.
Pretty girl :]
She did it!
