Dear Kingdom Creative,
Don’t get the shot.
We spend so much of our lives documenting, we never get to live in the moment.
It’s great to capture a story, but it’s better to be a part of one.
Last Saturday, my job was to shoot video and photo for a rural community outreach.
The volunteers spent the day spreading the love of Jesus through acts of kindness.
I made it a point to introduce myself to the lead pastor running the event: Pastor Cindy.
After a minute of chit-chat, Pastor Cindy asked if I would be willing to share my testimony from the stage.
“Uh, sure. When do you want me to go on?” I replied.
“In two minutes.” she answered.
After taking a moment to say a quick prayer, I went on.
To be honest, it felt like total word vomit.
My story ended with an appeal: if you need someone to talk to, I’m here for ya.
“What are you doing?” my brain retorted. “You got shots to capture! You’ve wasted enough time already!”
Of course, someone took me up on my offer and we talked for a solid 30 minutes.
Our conversation didn’t end with a “Shekinah Glory” experience.
We shared our stories of pain and then prayed together.
In was during our conversation that I realized a couple of things.
1. One way you can tell that you’re healed from your past is when you’ve regained the ability to dream.
It’s impossible to imagine a wonderful future while you’re wallowing in your pain.
As you let the presence of God and loved-ones into your pain, you’ll heal over time.
Then one day you’ll wake up with ideas of what could be and what you need to do now to see those things come to fruition.
That’s when you know you’ve healed.
2. By making myself available, I was able to be a part of what God was doing.
By taking a break from documenting the good story, I was able to live one.
So yes, get the shots you need to make the video or photo album.
Fulfill the job you got hired to do.
But let go of the pressure to capture everything.
Take that moment to share a word, pray with people, and raise your hands in worship.
Allow God to minister to and through you.
Because let’s be real: you won’t use most of the shots you get anyway.
Blessings,
Zachary Thayer
P.S.
Here’s the documentary I made from this outreach: