{Be Successful} Chase after God

I initially intended to feature another wonderful guest author for today’s post. I’m really trying to mix it up some in order to diversify this section of the blog. There are limitless topics on how to be successful and obviously I only have the knowledge and experience to write about a small percentage of them :) But then a few days ago I realized the significance of the date and knew I had to write this weekend’s post myself. (So stay tuned, the awesome guest posts are coming in the future!)

I’ve actually spent hours trying to get this post written. Partially because I’m dealing with foggy ‘I have a cold’ brain and partially because it really is impossible to put the supernatural into words.

A year ago today I boarded a plane headed to Seattle for a photography retreat/workshop called For the Love. It was a leap of faith. A step into a new chapter and a new season of life. I had no clue what God had in store for me but I knew that I would leave Washington forever changed.

I arrived in Seattle hungry. Starving actually. The preceding months had been pretty challenging for various reasons. As God continued to unleash more of my creative artistic side, I found myself feeling more and more out of place in the military world I was accustomed to. It was a good world but I realized the person God was shaping and molding me to be did not thrive there anymore. Unfortunately I didn’t know anyone in creative artistic world either. I desperately needed community. I desperately needed someone who could say ‘I get it. I’m the same way’.

The retreat began and I felt myself begin to exhale. I was finally around like-minded people. Creative individuals who think differently than what’s considered normal. Individuals who are passionately chasing after God’s heart. In order for something to grow into all it’s destined to be, it has to be in the right environment. A seed needs to be in soil. Fish need to be in water. That week I finally found my environment.

I laid my frustrations, my hurt, my life, my plans, my dreams in God’s hands and held my empty hands out for Him to fill. I removed the protective walls around the inner core of who I am and allowed myself to go ALL IN.

ALL IN can be a scary place. You completely let go of everything you hold onto as important and say ‘not my will but yours’. But God is a good God. His ways are higher than ours. He is always faithful and has our best interests at heart.

As I reflect on all that has transpired over this past year, I am overwhelmed w gratitude and in awe of the workings of God. I have an amazing new branding design and a clear God-directed purpose and vision for my photography business. My website should be complete by the end of this year. Even in these early days I have had the opportunity to photograph in dream scenarios. I have seen how God had a purpose for those years I devoted to being a ‘Navy spouse’…He has opened up opportunities for me to combine my passion of photography with my heart to support our military.

Then there is this amazing mind-blowing blessing of Delight. If you had told me last year that I would develop a strong heart for teenage girls I would’ve thought you were joking. But here I sit, writing another blog post for this incredible ministry. And just a couple weeks ago I was sitting in a house full of 15 young ladies, leading a mini retreat in NC. My heart overflowed with love as I listened to them share their hearts and struggles. As I heard loud bursts of laughter echoing off the walls (and contributed quite a bit myself!). It felt like home.

I may not have an overflowing bank account or the fanciest car or the nicest house. I may not be considered successful by the world’s standards. But I’ve helped young ladies realize they are valuable just as they are…as the amazing unique CREATIVE individuals that God created them to be. I’ve put smiles on faces and given opportunities for girls to grow in their relationships with God and to feel truly beautiful. And THAT is worth more than all the riches in the world.

Success doesn’t come from chasing your dreams. It comes from chasing after God. It’s when your focus is on Him and you lay your life down at His feet and say ‘Here I am Lord, send me’ that He reveals His perfect plan for you. It’s in that raw, real, and vulnerable moment that He is able to come into your life, rock your world, and take you places you’ve never imagined in your wildest dreams.

Photo Credit: Megan Becker of Megan Justine Photography