“Hellooo… hellooo… Is anybody there?” Sometimes I imagine all these years writing on this blog and no one really there to read it but myself. Haha. But truthfully, that never really mattered.
10 years. Oh how much can change in a decade. Life was so different when I first began writing on this blog. I was a 22 year old college graduate embarking on an adventure of…. well I hadn’t figured that part out quite yet. Blogs were just getting popular, and social media was nothing more than albums of what you did this past weekend with your friends and highly filtered Instagram posts of your artsy new converse in the grass with an iced coffee on a warm summer day.
When you mention the word blogger today, most people think of the fashion bloggers who get paid through sponsors etc… But for me, this very blog began the foundation of what is today Barbara Marcella Photography.
Looking back, I can’t help but smile. This blog literally watched me grow up in the midst of so many changes, dreams, ideas, heartbreaks, failures, successes, jobs… all through the words and photographs I poured out on it.
I have been asked if I would change anything about my journey or what I went to school for... and truthfully I don’t think I would. Every single job I worked, the major I studied, the people I got to meet, the opportunities that came… it all shaped me into who I am today.
And so if I could go back and give myself some words of encouragement, I’d tell myself this: Don’t begin any project with the idea of making it big… just pour out your heart into everything you do with love and hard work, and with time, success will come naturally if you continue to stay.
Stay. That one word that seems to be to so difficult to come by in today's world. No one stays anymore. We leave our marriages when we lose interest, we quit school when we don't know what to do, we give up on a dream when it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
Even though many changes did come, the one thing that was always constant in my life was the Lord's love and grace for me as I navigated where I was going. His patience, guidance, and the confidence He gave me these past years allowed me to go where I never thought I could.
Life will change, people will change, jobs will change... but God never does. Amen for that.
My goal through everything I do here, my business, and in my life is to simply glorify the One who gave it all for me: my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My words, my photographs, my stories... I truly am blessed to do what what I do, and I point it back all to Him.
Sometimes you begin one thing and you just never know where it may lead you. But if you don't stay, you'll never find out. Just like one of my new favorite songs "Into the Wild" by Josh Baldwin says:
"There is a calling
You've placed upon me
I've felt it all my life
Step out with both feet
Walk on the water
Leave my past behind
I wanna follow, follow Your heart
In the face of the unknown
I wanna trust You, trust who You are
When I let go, I'm halfway home
Into the wild, oh
It's time to dream like a child again
Into the wild, oh
Letting go is where life begins"
To my clients who always trust me with their families and special moments in their lives... thank you. To my family and people closest to me who never once doubted me... you truly are a blessing in my life.
The past 10 years has been a whirlwind of beautiful changes and through it all I'd say the most important thing has always been to be patient, love people, work hard, and trust that the Lord was giving me the wisdom to follow the path He had for me.
If you're here... thank you! This little space is my heart written out for you to read, and I'm truly honored you would take time to do so!
Never forget, through everything you do, do it for His glory... and I promise you, you won't regret one thing in your life. ♡
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Colossians 3:17
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