"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was formless and empty.."
Genesis 1:1-2
Now, my beginnings looked a bit differently but my canvas appeared formless and empty. Empty with the exception of a dream.
In the beginning of my journey of photography back in the late 90's, I captured pretty pictures on my phone. This was usually done while traveling and almost always included some sort of a devotional to go along with the pictures. I spent my quiet time with God and nature. And voila! Okay, it took a little bit longer for that dream to become a reality. But I knew I had a gift - something special that God had given me; it was gonna take a bit of time and planning for Him to show me just what He wanted me to do with this gift.
Fast forward to 2012, freshly divorced, a single mom and no idea how to proceed in life; I decided to be every other "normal" person of society and I went to work. I clocked in, I clocked out. But hey, I enjoyed what I did. At that point in my "career", I was employed part-time at the local Christian bookstore. I really did enjoy my job, as I had my "regulars" that would come in, ask for me and we would visit, many times ending in me praying over someone in the corner. This was, after all, a Christian business, so it was welcomed. As life would have it though, it seemed not too long after starting there, the company as a whole decided to close up all their stores. I was again at a crossroads in my life, of what to do.
2013 is when I made the conscious decision to go back to school. I had always enjoyed learning how the brain works, so I decided to follow in my mom's footsteps and go for a Psychology degree. Somewhere along the way, I hit a wall. A wall of depression. These studies just didn't interest me. I decided to take a break from school.
At this time, I picked my camera back up and started offering portraits. At first, it was a High school senior here or there; then it quickly turned into Weddings. Weddings was where it was at. But after a couple of years, it was taking away my time from my little girl. I didn't need a patch - I quit cold turkey.
Somewhere around this part of the timeline, I had lost contact from my faith. I had become distant from God, getting lost in translation with everything else. I was like the prodigal son, running back into God's arms. In him, I found healing from past hurts. I found the gift of forgiveness and the ability to pardon people for their wrongdoings against me. I found the love of a Father, who filled the empty void that my earthly dad left. And I found me - the Godly daughter, who was worthy, accepted and most of all loved.
The fall of 2018, after much prayer, I decided to start back up at school - this time in Photography. Unlike before, I found immense enjoyment and realized I was where I was supposed to be all along - behind the lens. At this point, I knew this was God's plan for my life.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
I excelled when it came to portraits. But, to be honest, I fell deeper in love with landscape work. God didn't spare one piece of beauty when He created this world - and the enchanting sunrise/sunsets and the lavish allure of the landscapes!
I started spending more time in nature, and close to God - and that's when the beauty started to happen. I found that no mere "popular" scripture would do, when it came to describing the story on my canvas. I began by praying and asking God which words He would have me pair with the photograph. And still to this day, that is how the scripture is revealed - through prayer!
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