i’ve really struggled this weekend. my perseverance levels are down and i am struggling to continue believing that joseph will get a job and people will ever pay me for my photography.
but i just took this photo this afternoon and it gives me hope that i will find my way along this journey of trusting Jesus with everything.
I understand. Keep your head up and keep walking forward in faith. We walk by faith not by sight. I have been at my business for over a year & have some of the same thoughts from time to time. They are lies from the enemy to discourage us from the dreams God puts on our hearts to do. I remember totally bombing a craft fair once & just putting my head down like, is anyone going to buy these cards? I asked God what He thought about it and I heard that still small voice, "This is part of pursuing a dream."
Never give up. You have God-given talent and He will make a way for your gifts, in His time. love.
this is a GORGEOUS photo! That's a great feeling – looking at a finished product that really "clicked" and going "no way… did i make that?!". 😉
Keep up hope, tahni! Your work is stunning and far from ordinary – you'll find your niche, and so will joseph. You're where you are for a reason.
We're in the same boat – searching for a job for Jon, getting lots of rejections and finding it hard to hope – but there's nothing I can do about his job search. All I can do is continue to create, so that's how I spend my days. I have faith that something that has brought me such freedom can't be exercised in vain.
i was thinking of you as i read the quote below and reflected on my own littleness. i saw your post, and thought that you seem to be feeling little, too.
"all too often we bemoan our imperfections rather than embrace them as part of the process in which we are brought to God. cherished emptiness gives God space in which to work. We are pure capacity for God. let us not, then, take our littleness lightly. it is a wonderful grace. it is a gift to receive. at the same time, let us not get trapped in the confines of our littleness, but keep pushing on to claim our greatness. remind yourself often, “i am pure capacity for God; i can be more."
— Macrina Wiederkehr
you're a very gifted artist and photographer, and joseph is also gifted in his ministry and music. God's working in your "cherished emptiness," though i know (from our own situation) how hard it is to avoid discouragement. i'll be praying that hope finds you with renewed strength! love you.
Hey my dear. It will work out and what you have to remember is that "these are good times too". This is the place that God has put you guys and He is going to do as He sees fit. And this is what marriage is all about – leaning on each other in lean times and strong. You have to keep close to each other and remember that you are in it together.
I know it's discouraging, but as the other poster said you will find your niche. The photo for this post is awesome.
wow, what a beautiful photo! griff and i continue to keep your job situation(s) in our prayers each night. you are loved and covered in prayer. i can't wait to see how God uses you guys with the gifts He's given you!
beautiful photograph. I wish you all the best! xoxox
"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."
~ Thomas Jefferson
Having been laid off four times, rejected a few THOUSAND times in trying to get jobs, running out of money and having the pleasure of someone totaling my car, I didn't even think there was enough left at the end to tie that knot. So I got creative and pulled the rope apart at the end to create new extensions. After all, isn't life a lot of loose ends?
And to borrow from another remarkable future, as Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
Keep calm, and carry on.
Tahnadonotwannastruggle:
I know this may be of little consolation for you at this very moment in time, but I thought I would share my adult beginnings, as a means of encouragement to you. At age 18 my father disowned me and forbade Grammie from offering me any assistance. Much like you, I was raised in an upper middle class family and had enjoyed a comfortable life. In the blinking of an eye, it was all gone. I was forced to try and make my way with a new wife and a soon to arrive baby Louanne (an awesome woman today).
I got a job at a Circle K Convenience store making $2.10 an hour. After a few months living
with my grandparents, we moved into an apartment in a very Dangerous part of Albuquerque which I would describe as the ghetto's ghetto. I had no education and no money, but I did
have hope. A hope for a better life for my family, perhaps one like I was blessed with growing up. Little did I know what God would work in my life as I laid awake many nights wondering how I would be able to provide food, shelter and security for a fledgling family.
We started attending a great community church and I made the decision that I would give 10%
of my paltry income in tithes (How much is 10% of nearly nothing). It was the very first time that I totally stepped out in blind faith. Two weeks later I met a wonderful couple at church who insisted that we move out of our dangerous apartment immediately. They helped us move into a brand new apartment coincidentally named, "Candelaria Manor". This was possible due to their assistance and then the husband helped me get a job working with him as a meter reader for the electric company. In less than a month, I went from really struggling to mostly struggling (improving greatly), but in a new job with great benefits and a huge $570 per month salary (nearly doubled my previous income). I will not bore you with the detail
from then until now, but suffice it to say, God put progressively better opportunities in my path and the rest is, as they say, history.
The point is, God intervened in my life in a powerful way back then and I have been a prodigal son to God numerous times since. Each time, God has shown me great mercy, love and grace. Part of His grace has been giving me the honor and the privilege to be your dad. You have grown into a beautiful, loving and TALENTED young woman. I will be forever grateful that God allowed me to be "Obnoxious Cheerleader Dad of the Year", and for allowing me to catch an early flight home so that I could surprise you by wearing the Cheerleader Dad sweatshirt I made, all the while walking along the sidelines with your coach and waving to the crowd. And for Chattanooga, Chattanooga, YA! And for a THOUSAND other things that have more value than any job I have ever had or any "success" I have known.
God started a great work in you before the very beginning of time. Trust Him to take you to the end of a blessed journey. Joseph will get a job and you will sell more art and photography than you could have ever imagined. As Holly said, do not buy the lies of the enemy for he comes to steal, kill and destroy. You will be victorious and you should never stop hoping and believing in the living God.
I leave you with the words from James 1:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and
tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Tahnzella, stay strong in the Lord and the power of His might!
I Love You,
Dad