The Journey is the best part- Revised { Be Savvy }
I shared this same post with you all on December 3rd 2014. At the time, I didn’t know that Joy would be our March theme, I felt so pressed re-share this post with you as my final post about Joy this month. Now that you have read about Joy and what it means, What happens when you choose it, and how those choices affect our lives. so with that fresh perspective and your new mindset on joy I hope you can pull out new promises to hold onto in this post, because this one has meant a lot to me, and its always something to remind ourselves with.
Ive been there, you’re starting out, or maybe you’ve been doing photography for a short while but you’re stuck. Maybe you’ve been on this journey for a long while but you clicked on this link anyways. Well, this is for you, because I truly feel like what I am about to say are not my words.
Everyone is posting pretty pictures, their locations are so rad and their models are…. models! WHAT? How do I do that? When will I be that? When will I get 200 likes? When will I at least get 25? They have a really nice camera, I wonder if they bought that themselves? I wonder if thats why their images are better than mine.
OK STOP, stop right there, you’re going to lose all your joy. Do you want to know why? because you’re comparing yourself, your art, to someone else’s?
Did you know that the most famous artists didn’t get recognition until they were dead? Ok, that didn’t sound too encouraging, what I mean is don’t look for a pat on the back from someone else, your worth is not instagram likes. Step back from the camera (or drawing pad, or paint brush, this can apply to any medium) and ask yourself why you are on this journey? Yes, art is a journey, you won’t become great overnight, i will promise you that. Being an artist is not easy, people will ask you if you are for real with your career choice (if thats your career choice) or they will misinterpret your art, or even take advantage of you because they don’t value you it like you do, if you’re like me, your art is your baby.
Stop and ask yourself why? Find your why. It should never be for the recognition of others, for the likes, for the awards, to be in the cool group or even for your mother. Moms are awesome though. God has gifted you. Did you know you can worship Him with that? Use your gifts to Glorify him.
Matthew 25:14-30 ESV
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.”
Don’t be that one that hides what has been given to you, don’t try to impress others and stifle your joy when there is no satisfaction in pleasing man. Give your gifts to Him and he is going to surprise you with the amazing places he will take you, you will have find a new inspiration and have a restored joy, you’ll find beauty in the unordinary and thats what makes beautiful art.
So you want to go to that cool conference, you want to one day have the ideal gear, have the following on social media, you know what? Heres what Gods word says about the the desires of our heart in Psalm 37:4
“Delight yourself in the lord and he will give you the desire of your heart.”
What an awesome promise. Give it to him, practice and better your craft, Find your “why” to restore your joy. There IS joy in the journey, and there is SO much freedom in that.
*Update* March 7th 2015,
I wanted to tell you all how much writing about Joy this month has blessed me! Writing about Joy this month with our team has been life changing, and eye opening about the choices I make. I really had to dig deep into the word, and I also had to make some changes in my life because I was extremely convicted, yet blessed how the Lord was ministering to me as I prepared my writings with you each week. So for that, thank you! Thank you for reading what we share here, because I write for you all I have been extremely blessed at heart as God puts the words on my mind to type each week. Sometimes I feel like what I post is truly just a reminder for little ole me, and I’m just super blessed to have a platform such as this to share my words on. God has been, so good to us, I have true joy in that, and I hope you do too! <3
