Sage YMCA, Paralympic Gold Medalist and U.S. Navy Lt. Brad Snyder

I had the privilege of photographing the first Sage YMCA Community Breakfast Program (visit Sage YMCA to learn more or to donate) that included international speaker, author, USA Paralympic gold medalist swimmer and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Brad Snyder.

It was an early morning when members of the community and YMCA members came together for a breakfast designed to encourage and inspire as well as to raise money for programming.

The breakfast began with local performances from a District 47 bell choir, The Summers Academy of Dance and the Crystal Lake Central High School Madrigals.

D47 Bell Choir

Crystal Lake Central High School Madrigals

Summers Academy of Dance Berkshire Ballet Theatre performs a portion of The Nutcracker

After the entertainment, Lieutenant Snyder ascended the podium. All eyes were on him as he delivered an inspirational, entertaining and poignant speech.

For a person whose degree was earned in Naval Architecture and who was stationed overseas diffusing bombs, Snyder has slipped nearly effortlessly into the motivational speaking platform.

As Snyder recalled the series of events leading up the loss of his vision, I people-watched from behind the lens. The 160 guests in attendance sat mesmerized, hanging on his every word.

His talk invited the audience to not only listen to his story, but to walk alongside him throughout his journey as he painted a vivid picture of what happened in the weeks after his injury --  the garish realization that his life forever would be altered, the life-changing normalcy found in swimming and the glorious joy of winning a gold medal for only himself, but for his country -- one year to the day that the detonation of an IED in Afghanistan left him completely blind.

In a speech overpowered by optimism, tinged with the agony of injury and covered in hope, there were sighs, gasps, tears and genuine smiles. But as Snyder closed, he reminded everyone that resilience isn’t always about bouncing back from a setback to the person you used to be. Resilience is dynamic. As humans, resilience means that we have stretched, we have grown, we have become a better version of ourselves – that we should keep striving for something more.

Snyder said his goal is to be the best blind person he can be. What are you striving for?

U.S. Navy Lieutenant and Paralympic gold-medal swimmer Brad Snyder.

Snyder's guide dog Gizzy remains by his side throughout his presentation.

Gizzy and Snyder

The YMCA staff posing with Snyder and Gizzy after an impressively successful first community breakfast.

Snyder meets with Oscar Mike founder Noah Currier. I've had the honor of photographing Currier in the past. Oscar Mike strives to keep military veterans alive and on the move. Learn about the Oscar Mike Foundation here: https://www.oscarmike.org/foundation/https://www.oscarmike.org/foundation/

Advent: Week One

This past Sunday began the first week of the liturgical season of Advent. I feel so richly blessed to have this time to prepare for the birth of Christ. I have had seasons where Advent is so busy and hectic that we haven’t felt spiritually ready for Christmas. I’ve had other years where we had an enormous amount of time to pour into preparation. In recent years, I have found more and more ways to manageably deepen our family’s understanding of preparing our hearts for Jesus' birth.

I would love to share a few of our Advent traditions with you.

My husband and I have had this Advent wreath since we were married. It is unique – something that I was looking for at that time in my life – and it is well-loved. It is a fixture on our kitchen table.

Every night, we light the appropriate candle(s) and read from one of Arnold Ytreeide’s books. If you haven’t read them, I highly recommend them for adults as well as children. There are four books whose characters intersect as they follow different paths leading up to the birth of Jesus. There is a reading for each day of Advent – if you miss the first couple of days of Advent, just buy (or borrow) the book, double up and read along with us. We are reading Bartholomew’s Passage this Advent.

We have several friends who are Jewish and these stories help us to talk about Jewish customs and traditions because three of the four main characters are Jewish.

We have used the Truth in the Tinsel program in the past, but this year we are going back to a traditional Jesse Tree. My girls drew and painted our tree, and this year we are using pre-printed ornaments to color as I read from the Bible.

My husband and I have had this nativity since our first Christmas – purchased at Ace Hardware, it is neither flashy, nor expensive, but it is dear to us. And when our youngest was born, we purchased this Fisher-Price nativity set. Jesus’s space remains empty and that is how I began teaching our children about preparing for Jesus’ birth – about waiting patiently and anticipating that joyous day.

My husband and I signed up to receive a free email program –The Best Advent Ever – through Dynamic Catholic. Matthew Kelly and Dr. Allen Hunt are putting out videos based on Dynamic Catholic’s new book, Beautiful Hope.  I received that book in the mail last week, and I devoured it in one night. I am excited to see how Kelly and Hunt present this message through their videos. You can sign up for them here, too.

We try to focus on ways that we can help others – baking cookies, dropping off something we know another family needs, making a phone call, reaching out to friends, choosing tags off the Giving Tree at church. But in little ways, my children like to make crafts for others, color or draw pictures and do things like shoveling a driveway for someone who needs it – things that might not cost anything at all, but that might make someone’s day a little lighter.

With Matthew Kelly’s focus this Advent being BeautifulHope, I hope to work as a family to do one thing that encourages hope each day – whether within our family or for others ~ and I encourage everyone to do the same. After all, Advent is a time of preparing our hearts for the birth of Christ – the Light of Christ.  Without Him, hopelessness quickly pervades our circumstances. So, be the light that brings hope as you go about your day – whether it is taking the time to look at your child and answer his question for the millionth time, making time to actually have a conversation with your spouse or smiling at the cashier during a hectic shopping trip.

Wishing you a very blessed Advent.