What's Your "One Thing"?

What your "one thing?"

I've been percolating on this thought now for a while. Ever since I was at church on Sunday and they showed an old movie clip with Curly the cowboy (from City Slickers) talking to a young man about the secret of life. The young man is listening while Curly's talking about "Do you know what the secret of life is?" And the young man of course says no. Then the old cowboy holds up one finger. And the young man says "Your finger?" And the old man explains that the secret to life is having one thing. One thing that you were focused on- having a one track mind.

(You can see the clip here if you want to watch it on Youtube: )

This really stuck with me. Because as a mother I feel like I have many train tracks going in many different directions.. I have a train going to the park. I have a train going to my business. I have a train going to my church track. I have a train going to my family track. But instead of thinking about my life as a whole bunch of different train tracks going all over the place, I should think of my life is one long train on one track with many different cars.

But first before I merge all the cars together I need to think of who is going to drive my train. If I say myself then I can't be in all the other cars. So I put God in the engine room. Now since he's driving the train, I can just go through the different compartments in the train and check on them to make sure everything is good. In the caboose is my family car. The family car brings up the rear and is where the conductor(me) would live.

I love this analogy because it makes me head toward One direction instead of a whole different directions all at once.

So from that analogy I started thinking about what my one thing is in my life. Is my focus to be the most knowledgeable person? Is my focus to be the most "successful" person? Is my focus even to be the "best" parent?

The Bible says in Matthew 6:33 that we need to "seek first the kingdom of God, and then everything else will fall into place." (My translation Haha)

I read that verse and million times but I never thought about it in the sense of my business.

If my focus on my business to be the best and the most successful in my field then I am missing it. If my purpose in life is to have a great retirement fund, or even having a good job, then I am really missing the point.

In fact I was having a conversation about this very topic to somebody the other day. I was talking to my friend about how so many people graduate college and they can't find work. How so many educated people just go right into greeting at Walmart with a B.S. in psychology. She said that it was because parents are not pushing there kid enough- that they just let their kid study whatever they want without thinking about the future or financial stability.

for me, I never thought of my four year education as something that would owe me- you know, owe me a job, owe me back all the years I spent with success, or even owe me future happiness. They don't owe me anything. And even though I do owe them back a lot of money, that doesn't mean that I can't start planning and walking in the destiny that God has for my life.

In fact I was thinking of that very topic just now. I was thinking about why even have a photography business. I mean what is the point of it all?

Let's be honest, this is the most expensive businesses you can ever get into. It also takes a lot of time and a lot of skill to develop. And you're never guaranteed to earn money. So why do I do it?

Do I do it to be the best in the whole city? Do I do it to get riches and a bigger house and more success?

No.

I do it because it lets me reach more people with the love of God.

I remember I was talking to a college student who has the dream of working for National Geographic someday.

What aspiring photographer doesn't want to work for National Geographic? It's kind of the pinnacle of traveling, taking photos, seeing the world, and being appreciated for your talents.

But my dream job is very similar but very opposite at the same time.

My dream job is traveling and taking photos but it's working for an organization that could never repay me.

One particular organization that I would love to work for in the future is one that my business already sponsors through well building- Gospel for Asia. My life goal is to build 50 to 100 Wells that will serve over a quarter of a million villagers with fresh and clean water.

(Www.mygfa.org/waterlifelove to see more info)

Gospel For Asia serves India, China, Thailand and other South East Asian countries with humanitarian aid, religious education, small business partnerships to restart some local economies and children services for the slums.

Every time that we get their quarterly magazine I am blown away by the quality of photos they have. National Geographic would be jealous.

They are so emotional and filled with passion and it really draws you in to help serve and give to the mission.

That's my dream job. Helping the world see life in a different way through my photography. I want to capture life and share love through my lenses.

So how do I get to the ultimate goal? The first thing is knowing as much as I can about every single aspect of my business and my craft. I'm just not here to take photos of little babies and families, I'm here on a mission- my ultimate mission to to serve the community around me and provide a service that would honor God.

So there. That's my one thing- be the best me that I can be and using my gifts and talents to serve others around me. And in that way I will have the ultimate success- building the kingdom of God- one image at a time.

Christal

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