"It's a metaphor."

     So I bought a new camera yesterday. Still kind of can't believe it. I was thinking earlier about my photography journey, and (of course) managed to turn it into somewhat of a metaphor for life. (You can do that with almost anything, you know.) 

     I remember being 12 years old, taking my mom's silver Kodak outside to take some pictures of the snow, and getting hooked. Ever since that winter day, I've had a "passion" for photographer. (Sidenote:  I tend to think it's cheesy when people say they have a "passion" for this or a "passion" for that. But hey, it's true. Breaking my own rules here, y'all.) It took me two and a half years to save money for a better camera. TWO AND A HALF YEARS. That's a long time for a 12 & 13 & 14 year old who is desperate to have her very own very expensive piece of machinery. Finally, after being incredibly frugal with my money, September 25th, 2010 was the day that my dreams came true. At the time, I thought my trusty little Nikon slr was the world's greatest camera. I'll always love it, and I'm convinced that no matter what other camera I use, my first slr will have taken some of my all time favorite photos. It's captured weddings, funerals, and everything in between. Yes, I've been frustrated with how it's not capable of handling low lighting settings very well, but for the most part, it's been fantastic. It's helped capture some of the best moments of my life. (And I won't go into how my photography beginnings also included a blog entitled "Captured Moments" full of overly processed images. Yikes.) 

     Over four years later, and a new camera is in transit to my doorstep. It isn't the most expensive, or the most amazing, but it's definitely an upgrade and I'm pretty dang happy and excited. (!!!) I don't have a miraculous story of how I came to own it. It sort of just happened, all while sitting on my parents' leather couch. A friend on Facebook shared her friend's post about her camera, two lenses, and allllll the accessories for sale, and for a great price, too. The thoughts going through my mind when I saw her post were something like "Woah - AHHH - um - calm down - BREATH DEEP CAMILLE." (I loOove a good deal, y'all.) I knew I was excited because I acted then and there. Generally I'm a procrastinator/let-me-think-about-this-for-2-weeks-before-acting kinda person. So I texted the seller about it, and thought she'd get back with me soon. A day passed. Nothing. I texted her again because maybe she didn't get my message? Another day passed. Nothing. I was beginning to doubt that she would ever write me back, so I started looking on Craigslist and Ebay. I found the same camera on Ebay, but for an even better price than I imagined. The seller had several hundred five star reviews, and the auction was ending just two hours after I first saw the listing, so I thought, why not? To make a long story short, I bid on it 10 seconds before it was over and won. Yesssss.  (Oh, and the lady eventually wrote me back, informing me that I couldn't have bought it anyway. Things just work out so perfectly sometimes, don't they?)

     To most people this whole camera thing isn't a big deal. It's…nothing. A new camera - yay. But I love it. Not just because it allows me to capture the astonishingly gorgeous people and world God has created, but because God cares about me enough to give me the desires of my heart. I know that He knows how happy I get when I'm taking photos. He knows that it's one of few hobbies I have and it's something I really care about. And I love that if you do the math on paper, buying nice new cameras shouldn't be possible for me, but it is. 

It's also a wonderful reminder to me that He works every.thing. out. If I hadn't gotten the camera? That would have been His doing, too. How glorious is it to know that the God who keeps the world spinning is the same God who orchestrates every little part of my life?? I'm grateful for how how reassuring that is during uncertain times. The promises He's made to His people are unbelievable if you stop and think about them. 

Who am I to deserve His love?

"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." Job 5:9