Rejoicing in Unexpected Blessings

When a friend from church emailed me asking me to be THE photographer for our church's VBS I was floored.  We have so many talented professional photographers at our church I was so flattered to be thought of let alone asked.  If you know me at all you can imagine I immediately went from feeling flattered to instant fret and worrying.  "What if I don't do a good enough job?  What if my photos aren't what the church is hoping for?  Can I do this? Should I do this?  Am I in WAY OVER MY HEAD?!  After all, I take pics of my family and flowers not events like this for goodness sake."

Monday morning, as I sat in my car I prayed the photos I took would glorify God.  I prayed the moments I captured would bring joy and inspire others.  I asked God to help me capture children as they learned about Him celebrated what He has done for us.   Above all, I asked God to take away my anxiety of being perfect and any thoughts of myself.  This photo taking opportunity wasn't about me. It was about doing God's work.

Last night, as I edited and paired down the photos to be made into a cd for each child to take home I recounted some pretty special moments.  I am an emotional girl anyway but this week I found myself in tears many times over.  Witnessing an act of kindness, hearing scripture spoken from the hearts and lips of children touched me so deeply.  I was especially moved while watching a room filled with 200+ children singing God's praises and jumping for joy.  What a blessing it was to be a tiny part of this event.  What unexpected blessings have you enjoyed as of late?

Philippians 4:4-9

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."