Inspiration

So I spent half the week trying to figure out what “inspires” me. Really, when I told my husband this week’s word he rattled off almost 10 things that inspire me. And, he was right. But I kept pondering, “How can I sum it all up? What is the one unifying factor in this list of inspiration?” In the shower (essentially the only truly quiet, alone time in my life), it struck me: connection. Personal, relational, spiritual, emotional… I am inspired when I witness or experience connection: a friend seeing the fruits of her leap of faith into pursuing her passion, photographing a child’s joy at the hug from his momma, my baby girl taking her first step, my husband sharing a breakthrough with a patient, God’s Word jumping off the page (or computer screen) and straight into my heart, music fueling emotion, ideas coming to fruition after endless emails, my 5 year old little girl sounding out a word and then jumping on the bed as she spontaneously puts it into a sentence… Yay, “connection” is my inspiration! Now, how to photograph it…

My brother often teases that he’s going to buy my family a drum set essentially to torture me with extreme noise for the next 15 years of my life. Naturally, the thought does get under my skin. But, you should see Tobias’ eyes light up when he plays the drums. His friend got a drum set for Christmas and ever since he’s played it, every night he prays about that drum set. He’s making a connection, he’s finding a passion, and that inspires me. Here’s his homemade version. His intensity is evident – he’s not just banging, he’s PLAYING the drums.