matthewken4722
Gifts
I had been waiting for a misty morning for weeks, closer to months. Needless to say, I was very excited, and was in such a hurry to get out of the door that I left my phone, wallet, and spare camera battery. I had three locations that I wanted to visit, so I rushed through the first shoot, but when I arrived at the second site, the mist had already cleared.
I was trying to do too much. I wish I would have taken my time at the first location, and enjoyed the mist. As I drove to the second site, I passed an abandoned orchard covered in mist. It would have been delightful to photograph, and was beautiful, but I had a ‘plan’, and I wasn’t willing to surrender it…. I didn’t think God cared about misty photography. Yes, it’s a rare weather condition in this area… but Jesus died for me. He left all of the comforts of Heaven to live without A/C or toilet paper to work a manual labor job. That doesn’t make sense to me. I would never have done it, and to die of asphyxiation and exhaustion nailed to a cross? But he did, so why am I so stubborn to trust him? If I’d surrendered my plan, and followed his urging, I would’ve spent time in two misty locations instead of one. I want to be more opened handed about life, to treat life as a gift. To consider the gifts God has given me. Running water and food are gifts. Photography is a gift. This camera and lens are gifts.
My house and my wife are great gifts, things that God promised me and delivered in miraculous yet strenuous ways. I had just lost my job, I didn’t have a down payment, or much of a savings, but God promised me the house we’re currently living in, so I pursed buying it, which is crazy. When the seller was notified that I had lost my job, she said “God told me to wait for you to find a job”, so she waited. And when the seller of her new house was informed, he was so amazed, that he was also willing to wait. But after a week, the sellers were no longer willing to wait. I was mess and I found myself praying, “Are you real or am I absolutely crazy?” and immediately my phone went off, and I was offered an amazing job. She even went on to say, that they normally don’t inform people by phone, just by email, but it felt important to call me. This is such a tender memory to me and I felt so close to God, He was touchable in that moment. Today, 7/7/20, is actually is the 4th year anniversary of his provision.
It would have been far easier to have waited and saved up for a house, but the crazy stressful process brought me closer to God. He became more real to me. I’m mostly grateful for God, and his closeness to me. When I’m focused on him, I’m by far the happiest. And this is only the beginning, a mere foretaste of heaven in a very broken world.
What are you grateful for?
Gifts
I had been waiting for a misty morning for weeks, closer to months. Needless to say, I was very excited, and was in such a hurry to get out of the door that I left my phone, wallet, and spare camera battery. I had three locations that I wanted to visit, so I rushed through the first shoot, but when I arrived at the second site, the mist had already cleared.
I was trying to do too much. I wish I would have taken my time at the first location, and enjoyed the mist. As I drove to the second site, I passed an abandoned orchard covered in mist. It would have been delightful to photograph, and was beautiful, but I had a ‘plan’, and I wasn’t willing to surrender it…. I didn’t think God cared about misty photography. Yes, it’s a rare weather condition in this area… but Jesus died for me. He left all of the comforts of Heaven to live without A/C or toilet paper to work a manual labor job. That doesn’t make sense to me. I would never have done it, and to die of asphyxiation and exhaustion nailed to a cross? But he did, so why am I so stubborn to trust him? If I’d surrendered my plan, and followed his urging, I would’ve spent time in two misty locations instead of one. I want to be more opened handed about life, to treat life as a gift. To consider the gifts God has given me. Running water and food are gifts. Photography is a gift. This camera and lens are gifts.
My house and my wife are great gifts, things that God promised me and delivered in miraculous yet strenuous ways. I had just lost my job, I didn’t have a down payment, or much of a savings, but God promised me the house we’re currently living in, so I pursed buying it, which is crazy. When the seller was notified that I had lost my job, she said “God told me to wait for you to find a job”, so she waited. And when the seller of her new house was informed, he was so amazed, that he was also willing to wait. But after a week, the sellers were no longer willing to wait. I was mess and I found myself praying, “Are you real or am I absolutely crazy?” and immediately my phone went off, and I was offered an amazing job. She even went on to say, that they normally don’t inform people by phone, just by email, but it felt important to call me. This is such a tender memory to me and I felt so close to God, He was touchable in that moment. Today, 7/7/20, is actually is the 4th year anniversary of his provision.
It would have been far easier to have waited and saved up for a house, but the crazy stressful process brought me closer to God. He became more real to me. I’m mostly grateful for God, and his closeness to me. When I’m focused on him, I’m by far the happiest. And this is only the beginning, a mere foretaste of heaven in a very broken world.
What are you grateful for?