14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 1

6 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Deuteronomy 8

Earlier in my career, I was pretty cocky about all I had done to get where I was. It was all me and all my hard work.

I didn’t apply for my first two jobs but was asked to come on board. I thought it was because I was a lot better than everyone else. Of course, I never said this out loud to anyone.

Just six years into my career, I lost my full-time job due to the economy and was laid off. It was then I cried out to God why? I could have easily seen God wondering why I asked him to intervene since I had done everything myself. As the scripture says, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”

The next three years were ones where I had my wilderness experience. I was surviving and not having lots of fun. But I was grateful to be paying the bills. I decided to go and get my seminary degree during this time. My experience was only three years of turmoil, unlike Israel’s 40 years.

The job right out of seminary, I was hired without ever having met my employer face to face. This time I knew it wasn’t me but God who was in charge of this journey.

When I get a job, I still want to celebrate my talents being honored. However, I am even more aware of how many other photographers could have been hired to do the job. When reading the scripture, “…remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today,” I pause and remember my three years.

If I had not experienced the layoff, I doubt I would have come to understand how much I accomplished, not due to me but because of my God, who has given me blessings of health, opportunity, and relationships which allow me to succeed.

While I would like to say I learned my lesson—I didn’t. There are times as a full-time freelancer the phone doesn’t ring. I have thought of everything I can to promote myself. After much prayer, I have consulted professionals and taken their advice, but I am still awake at night and wide awake every once in a while.

This is when I am reminded of what hope is all about. Hope is the assurance of things to come (it will all work out) because looking in the past of things done (Jesus’ victory over death) is now a firm, unshaken, well-grounded, immovable persuasion and certainty.

We will lose hope when we forget where God has brought us from. Remember all he has done and is doing.

In October last year, I had the rare opportunity to go to West Africa for three weeks. The people of West Africa were so kind and wonderful.

Earlier the children learn to carry things on their heads. The posture of the people is incredible.

Since they do not have sugar in their diets like Americans, their teeth are in better condition.

[Nikon D4, 85mm, ISO 2800, ƒ/1.8, 1/100]

This is the season of weddings. Weddings are one of the highlight events of our time here on earth. Jesus’ first miracle was at a wedding, and he used the wedding as a metaphor in his parables.

The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.

John 3:29

Few people can interrupt whatever I am doing and have my full attention. Each of these people is what I call my closest friend.

You can even know when someone else is interacting with a close friend. The mood changes and you see a glimpse of the joy in their hearts when interacting with their friend.

Jesus talked about what friends will do for one another.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

1 John 3:16

What is so special about friendships that we stop what we are doing and give our full attention to these relationships?

Forgiveness is at the core of friendship. Tom Peters says corporations should reward people for failure because failure means risk; without risk, there can be no success. In Laura Beth Jones’s book, Jesus CEO, she relates a story:

I was once in a self-discovery group where people were not mincing words. One man, sitting very stiffly and quietly, was a candidate for promotion within his organization. His body language was a picture of caution and fear. Finally, a woman gave him this sound advice: “You need to fail a few times. Then you will understand that people will love you even when you are not perfect.”

We have all taken risks with people in the past and have been sorely disappointed by many of them. We found out who wasn’t our friend for sure. Most of us then learned to take fewer risks so we would not feel the pain of disappointment.

God did not rest until he created humanity in the Garden of Eden. He wanted relationships. His artistry created us in his likeness to desire relationships as well.

Reading the Bible, each story centers on the character’s relationship with others and God. God allowed Job to be tested because he knew how strong the association was, to begin with.

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[a] and he was called God’s friend.

James 2:23

The footnote in my Bible for “God’s friend” says, “This designation (see 2Ch 20:7) further describes Abraham’s relationship to God as one of complete acceptance.

It has been said to have a friend; you must be a friend.