Forgotten lessons.

A simple question from a friend. A sudden change of plans. An unexpected conversation.

Recently, God has been reminding me of simple lessons that I seem to so easily forget at times. He has been using a variety of methods, but each time it was exactly what I needed to be reminded of.

Last week, a friend of mine asked me a question in a very straight-forward manner. I'm not sure he even meant too much by it, but the question stuck in my mind. I quickly came to the realization that the answer was all about perception—how others may perceive me, to be more specific. I mulled over this idea for a few days.

I think that many—I may be so bold as to even say most—people have a fear of perception. They're afraid that they will say or do the "wrong" thing and it will change how people view them. However, this whole concept becomes an act of trying to win the approval of man. That should not be our goal. Many of us know this—either somewhere inside of us or in theory—but struggle with it. I am one of these people.

Now this leads me to the first lesson I've been relearning: seeking God's approval in all that I do. Yes, I realize that it sounds so simple and something that many of us already know, but we must be putting it in practice each day. It's not even that I'm failing to seek God's approval so much as there are times when I let it become clouded with the acknowledgment of others. But God is faithful and loving, showing me the error of my ways. How wonderful our Heavenly Father is.

Lesson number two is equally as obvious, I would say, but also an important one. The start of it came last Friday. I had planned a photo shoot with a friend of mine for that afternoon, because I had to complete an assignment for my photo class. However, rather uncharacteristically of Southern California, Friday was a gray day. I kept checking the weather online, and it wasn't suppose to rain until later in the evening, so I thought we would be fine. How wrong I was.

About half hour before my friend and I were supposed to meet, the rain started. I had originally hoped to shoot photos of he and his guitar, but that quickly went out the window. I wasn't sure if he would even be willing to shoot any more—shooting photos in the rain can be asking a lot of someone. He never even mentioned it, though.

The rain had thrown all of my photographic plans for a curve. I had to think on my feet. Luckily, my friend was patient with me as I worked to figure out what would produce the best results. I kept shooting pictures, making my way through the unexpected challenges.

Forty-five minutes and a hundred and fifty pictures later, we headed back. Based on what I could see on my camera screen, I was pretty excited for how some of them turned out. I put the photos on my computer later that night and was absolutely thrilled. They had turned out great. Those photos are some of my favorite work in a long time.

Later, as I was looking at the photos and thinking back on the time, I realized how perfectly things had unfolded. Rather than the rain detracting from my photos, it enhanced them. The photos looked nothing like I had planned; they were even better.

It was then that I saw the obvious lesson staring me in the face. Recently, my life has been a lot like that photo shoot. Things have not been going as I planned. I've encountered all kinds of unexpected challenges. But it's times like these when I am to continue to press on. Even though I have no idea what the outcome will be, with God's leading, I must make my way through the storm. As the rain always brings greener grass, the most difficult of circumstances produce the most beautiful results.