So a few months ago my BFF and I decided to start a photography business. We did a wedding for a friend and it turned out so well that we decided to run with the crazy idea. Well starting a business takes a lot of work and a lot of time. Between the insanity of our regular jobs, families, church activities and social networking we managed to somehow put the pieces in place. Slow start but believing that God will bless the work.
So yesterday we had our first job involving children. Let me just say I have a new level of respect for children's church workers, day care employees, kindergarten teachers and parents of more than one child everywhere. Lol! I will tell you this, between the moving of furniture, entertaining children, posing children, setting up equipment, dragging children, forcing children to smile, getting the lighting just right, chasing children, making children stop crying, getting 2 cameras ready for action, feeding children, making children laugh, hauling in props, holding children still, making children look in certain directions, laying on the ground to get great angles, fixing children's clothes, threatening children, standing on exercise equipment for a different perspective, fixing children's clothes, bribing children, moving the party outside, bringing out toys to distract children, preventing children from trampling tiny rat dog, tearing everything down, calming children down, loving children and packing up...we were exhausted!!!! :)
Not kidding when I say it was an eye opening experience. We agreed that weddings are a lot less challenging. But since we now have 3 more photo shoots scheduled with families and lots and lots of children (and no weddings) I think God must be trying to teach us something. Haha!
What fascinated me were the different personalities that these kids had, even though they were from the same family line, each one was unique.
The oldest boy was very obedient, he did whatever we asked him to, no attitude, he was adorable. You could tell that he'd been down this road before and knew how to handle it. The other kids were younger.
The next one in line was a little energy ball. He no sooner hit the ground than he was off running. Finding a monster truck he was focused on playing, but then he saw a ball and he was off again. Posing him for pics was challenging because we literally had a 2 second window that he would sit still for and then he was gone.
The third down the line was almost a little over 1 and he had trouble focusing on us. We needed all sorts of things to grab his attention. We held up a mirror so he could see his reflection, we broke out Elmo and even had grandma doing her thing to keep him interested. But soon enough he would get hungry and need his bottle because the other things just didn't seem to satisfy him like his real food.
Our final little one was a mere 3 month all bundle of chubby cheeks and wide eyes. He didn't protest much (quite frankly he pretty much just laid there the whole time) but he just seemed to soak up everything that was going on around him. The cameras, the flashes, the lights, the people he just was trying to take it all in at once. His eyes and little hands just kept moving. Like I said, so fascinating!
The dad was awesome to watch as well. He had such patience, one of the kids would race off and he would go and get them and bring them back to the place where they needed to be. It seemed like they would just keep doing that but their father always went after them and would tell them again what they needed to do.
I love how God will show us things when our hearts are ready and willing to listen. I realized that these kids all represented phases of the Christian walk.
The oldest was like a more seasoned Christian. One who understands that obedience leads to blessing, one who has been through a lot and so knows about God's faithfulness and that this is another step in the journey.
The second child reminds me of the Christian who gets so excited about things and get really involved and pour themselves in it but then something else comes along that appears more exciting and so they are ready to jump into that. They are so busy going from one thing to the next that they barely sit still long enough to experience all that God may have for them.
The third child reminds of the Christian who can get caught up in the 'show'. That person loves the hype, they follow the conferences, get excited with the music and dance, they go from event to event looking for the next high but in the end the only thing that could truly satisfy them is time spent in the Word. Something that is sustaining and rich.
The last one is like the brand new Christian, starting out they are fun to watch as they discover the world around them, getting to know the different promises of God and seeing Him at work. It is almost overwhelming in a good way. They don't know where to look because they are surrounded by a new life.
But probably the most awesome part of the afternoon (besides it being over and me being able to find food and take a nap :) was watching dad. He made me think of our Abba Father whose mercies are new every day. Over and over again we may make poor decisions, we walk away from God, we choose our ways instead of His, we get involved in things we shouldn't and over and over God comes after us, bringing us back to the place where we were, giving us chance after chance to accept His grace and walk in His ways because He knows what's best for us and He has a plan. Wow! Kinda gives fresh revelation to His compassions never failing doesn't it? I am so grateful because I have been that kid running off more times than I can count, 'but for the grace of God...'
Hey friends, do me a favor and share something neat that God has shown you. I would love to hear. Till next time :)
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