is that it is only really important when you need it but don’t have it.
Most of us are working class people who know how to make a penny squirm.
I know I do, and yet, there are times when I don’t have a penny to bully.
That’s the way of it.
Of life.
There are times of plenty, on occasion, but for the most part, the times are lean and we find ourselves trying to make a dollar out of thirty seven cents.
It isn’t easy to cough up money we don’t have when it essential that we have it, when it seems impossible and unattainable, but that is the essence of faith.
Of believing and hoping when there isn’t anything else but belief and hope.
That is the epitome of life.
Ups.
Downs.
Blessings.
Joy.
Sorrow.
Triumph.
I live in my own little world most of the time. I have a job and am happy for such, for but I long for travel and photography and writing.
I don’t want to work for a living, I want to live for a living.
But I digress.
My point, the main point in fact, is that I am not worried about money.
It always seems to be there when I need it.
Jesus promised many times to supply our needs and to come to our rescue when we were in trouble.
He asks little, really. Only that we believe in Him and have faith in Him that He will do what He says He will do.
I have what could be construed as an insurmountable thing, but I haven’t given it a second thought.
I gave it to Jesus to let Him sort it out according to His will.
I have faith that He will, as He said He would, take care of me.
It is difficult, I know, for some to live simply by the faith that someone will actually do what they say the will, but I live by it.
I depend on it.
I rely on it.
The promise from Jesus, that is.
I take His word for what He says He will do and leave it at that.
Do I have the money I need?
No.
Will I have it?
Most definitely.
I have no doubt that what I have need of will be provided to me.
It is really no different than the trail shoots that I go on with nothing but my strength, stamina, camera and tripod.
I could see the same things that everyone else who walks the path sees, but instead of looking through my own eyes, I rely on the eyes of Jesus to guide me and the results are beyond anything I could have imagined.
The same goes in my day to day.
Is it always pleasant? No
Is it always what I hoped for? No.
Do I find blessings in the unexpected? Yes, more often than not.
I won’t say that every experience is a good one because that would be a lie, but for the most part, when I give myself over to Jesus and let Him lead, I learn something about myself, humanity, love, grace, or some other wonderful thing that reminds me that I am a child of God.
A blessing to Him.
A flower in His crown.
As hard as it is to believe sometimes that I could be an asset to anyone, I am, according to Him, His glory.
How magnificent is that? To be glorious to someone? To be important enough that someone would willingly die on my behalf?
I am breathless at the the mere thought of it.
But breathless or not, it is true. He did.
Without reservation.
And therein lies trust and belief because I was important enough to die for.
We all were.
Some of the lessons are hard and leave me shattered and nearly broken.
The keyword here is “nearly”.
I have what I need when I need it.
That, in itself, is a beautiful thing.
I don’t have to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself.
I don’t worry about today because I have given it to Jesus.
My past is just that, a past that I, if I choose to, can regret, or if I use it wisely can learn from the successes and failures.
I am only concerned about now, this moment, this particular space in time.
The rest, well, it is out of my hands.
As it clearly points out in Hebrews 11:1 ~ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
It pretty much says it all.
Faith. Hope. Evidence.
Right now is my priority, tomorrow is uncertain, yesterday is beyond me.
Now is what I have to work with.
Period.
I choose to have faith, believe, hope and know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He meant what He said.
There is my comfort, my strength, my joy, my thanksgiving and my life.
Life is, whether in the valley or on the mountain or soaring above the mountains and valleys, good.
And I am blessed.
Amen.
Hope makes us more than we really are.
A Photographer's Heart 