Purpose

I believe God has a purpose for each of our lives. That purpose, ultimately, is that we be in relationship with Him, and that we grow in that relationship - to love Him more passionately, and to become more Christ-like. Beyond that, I couldn't say for certain that He has a specific career chosen for each of us. But, I do know that He uses our careers, and wants us in a career, that will facilitate His purpose of drawing us into a deeper relationship with Him, and helping others to enter into that kind of relationship as well.

For me, that career is photography. When I started turning this hobby into a career, I did so with much prayer. One day, still seeking confirmation of His leading, and seeking to understand how photography fit into the sense of "calling" I felt in my life, I prayed, "Lord, Why photography?" He reminded me of my trip to Africa a couple of years before, and the lessons I learned there about His compassion for the multitudes. He reminded me of the multitudes of faces I saw there anytime we set up in a village or marketplace to preach. I had never seen crowds gather like that here. He showed me that day that photography was a way of putting faces on the multitudes. I may never see crowds gather in America like I did in Africa - 100's to even 1,000's of people spontaneously gathering at a time just to stand and hear the gospel preached. But I would see a multitude of people in front of my camera, and each one was just like me - they would each have needs, for which I could pray, and which Christ could meet.