Sunday stayed over night at Grandma's last night. This meant I had two options this morning:
- Wake up before the sun and get in a good 5+ hours of work. Or,
- Sleep in and then get up and work for about 2 hours.
I chose the latter. :) But with a distraction-free morning like this, what I really wanted to do was write. I just had an urge to pour my heart out. So I grabbed my coffee and sat down to my computer and... my mind was blank. Should I blog a recent session? Write about Haiti? Tell you guys my weekend plans? None of those seemed to be the answer, so I closed my blog and took a peek at my to-do list instead. I knocked out a few tasks I'd been avoiding and then started perusing the internets. (I'm back on Facebook. Ugh, I know. More on that another time, I think.)
Anyway. I came across Chelsea's blog post about creativity and it inspired me.
As you know, this is our year of less. It has been so awesome so far! We've experienced (a little) less eating out, (a lot) less road trips so far, less activities on our agenda, and less stuff in our home. It is lovely. Having and doing less has created more room for me to hear from God. This is what He is saying to me: Worship me by using your talents and the desires of your heart to love others in my name.
Throughout the last year or so, I have realized something.
I am a photographer, yes.
But photography is merely the tool God has blessed me with which to worship Him (aka love others).
Where my passions lie is where my God-given ministry is: loving people, exploring birth (and the beautiful empowerment it brings to women all over the world), telling stories, and giving people a forever documentation of the best moments/days/times of their lives.
And then this year kicked off with an invitation to use my photography to help raise money and awareness about the need for love and support in other countries. This has been such an honorable gift.
I had no idea how much a 7 day trip to Haiti could change my life and I know this is merely the beginning of those changes. (I'll try my darndest to put into words exactly how Haiti is changing my life soon. I promise.)
I know I'm rambling a bit. That's what I do. But, my point is this: What is your identity? What do you love to do? And what are you good at doing? God wants you to do that. Use it to love people. Stop looking at all the other people around you who are doing those things (photographers, moms, runners, whomever). Don't get distracted by a world of comparison. Because this is your story and your talent. God wants to use the you He created you to be.
Keep your eyes forward on what God has placed in YOUR life. And use your talent for His glory.
Like Bob Goff says... Love people and do stuff. Do what you are good at and let the rest go.
If you need inspiration... check out Jaime's story. (Spoiler: He completed one Ironman Triathlon every day for 30 days in a row... and he's using his experience to tell people about Jesus.)
