I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this morning, going over the last year in my head. I can’t believe all the changes Ben and I went through in 2016! Changes we couldn’t have even imagined a year ago today. We definitely would have been shocked to peek into our futures and see that we ended up moving cities, changing jobs, launching a business, planting a church, traveling to the opposite side of the country, and so much more that we hadn’t planned or imagined for ourselves. But here we are on the other side, and we’re so very grateful.
It’s a strange feeling, knowing in a matter of weeks, or even moments, your entire life course can take a sharp turn. It’s a freeing feeling. I am not stuck. I do not have to feel stuck, because I’ve seen us make dramatic changes and come out okay. It also makes me feel small, in a good way. I didn’t plan this step in my life. I didn’t dream it up and make it happen. I simply stood with open hands asking God “What do you have for me next?” And within weeks, he turned our lives upside down in the best possible way.

Do you ever feel trapped? Miserable in your job, or your city, but you just can’t see a way out? I’m here to tell you there is always a way out. It’s your life, and you don’t have to be the victim of it. I’ve always played it safe before. Risks are not really my thing. Leaving a job that I was grateful for seemed insane. I know more photographers than people in any other profession, and there’s not enough work to go around. If we hadn’t felt called to a different city, who knows if I ever would have left my job. I definitely wouldn’t have had the confidence to go out on my own and start the business I’m running today. Leaving Nashville demanded I leave my 9-5, and I knew if I didn’t try stepping out on my own now I never would. This was my chance at a reset on life. I told myself if we couldn’t make ends meet, I’d throw in the towel and do whatever I needed to do to keep us afloat. What was the worst case scenario? I end up serving coffee for practically the same thing I was making at my full-time job? Besides, we weren’t alone. We had friends and family in Charleston and Tennessee and all over the place that we could lean on if times got tough. There are people we love who love us back, and if we landed on their couch, there are worse places to fall.

If there’s a risk you’ve been too fearful to take, I hope my story can be an encouragement to you. Our lives are of course still messy, and going freelance certainly has it’s ups and downs. But we’re here, we’re making it, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.