In the Beginning - Part 1
In the beginning…
It was a morning in November 2022. It was still dark outside, and I was sitting in my chair, drinking my morning coffee—frustrated, discouraged, doubting, disbelieving. Honestly, there are probably a hundred more words I could use.
At this point, I had been a photographer for 10 years, but only part time. I had never really tried to "make a go of it" as a full-time photographer—until now. In May, I had left my job to make photography my full-time work. I quickly realized I had underestimated two things: how challenging it would be to grow a part-time business into a full-time one, and how hard it would be to work alone every day without the regular interaction of other people.
My mindset at the time was pretty much, “Lord, I’m pretty sure I heard You correctly… so here I am. Where are You?”
That morning in November, I started reading through Genesis. One of my all-time favorite verses is Genesis 1:2, where it says, "the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." I have always been in awe of the greatness of that moment and yet, how calm that verse feels.
That particular morning, a different part of the verse struck me: "Now the earth was formless and empty." It sounded like the perfect way to describe how I felt about my business—formless and empty. Nothing I was doing seemed to be working. The striving made me tired, the fatigue left me out of ideas, and the lack of ideas made me want to give up.
Oh, but then! My favorite part again! The Spirit of God hovering! It’s such a moment of anticipation, right? A moment of energy building and waiting to spill over. We know what’s about to happen—literally the most creative moment in all of history—and there is the Spirit, hovering.
Can you imagine that moment in Heaven?! Was there a hush of anticipation? Was there a roar of excitement? That moment right before God—the Creator—was about to speak.
As humans, we probably would have just waved a hand and made everything exist at once. But not God. He was still. He had a plan. He had purpose in every moment. At the dawn of all things, He spoke one phrase: Let there be light.
I rose from my chair that morning with a fresh mindset: "Spirit, You are hovering here—around me, around my business. I am not alone. I am not left to my own devices. You are the Creator of Creativity, and You have brought me to a creative business. Breathe into me the wisdom to run this business in a way that blesses others and brings You glory."