5 Ways Photographing a Sunrise is Like a Devotional Time with God...

1. The night before, when I am setting my alarm earlier than usual, it will sound like a great idea--even a bit romantic, but when the alarm goes off in the morning, I will have to force myself to get up and get moving. I dare not even look in the direction of my bed or I will crawl back in. (Can you tell I am not a morning person?) However, the rest of the day, I will look back and be glad that I stuck to the plan.

2. I never know what I am going to get. Bright lights, vibrant colors, clouds, rain, fog, gray skies, or a boring sunrise with nothing worth photographing. Same with the Bible devotional time. Will I get answers to my problems, great insight, silence, peace, more questions, warm fuzzy feelings, or seemingly nothing at all? 

3. Not every sunrise is going to be epic and not every devotional time is going to feel like I am standing on Mount Sinai with Moses as God walks by. Even so, each one is a blessing. 

4. If I spend time processing it, I may find that the most simple images and devotionals are the ones containing the most amazing end products. One of the things I have learned as I delved deeper into the digital darkroom is that the camera gathers a lot more information than I first see, especially if I am shooting in RAW format. It is possible to find that an image that looks too dark and devoid of color is actually full of vibrant colors waiting to be unveiled. The same can be said of devotionals. If I will spend time praying, reading the Bible, and sitting in silence with God, I may discover that what felt like a flat, boring devotional morning, is actually the one that impacts me the most.

5. Whether I see the sun or not, it is there and doing all the amazing things the sun is known to do. The same is true with God. Even if I don't see, hear, or feel Him during a devotional time, God is still there and doing all the amazing things He is known to do.