It is no secret that photography is an activity that my Heavenly Father and I enjoy together! It is something I chose to do WITH Him several years ago. When I’m out shooting, we do it TOGETHER, whether it’s a commercial shoot or just for pleasure. God is always teaching me new things and we have such good times in these interactions.

Last weekend my wife and I went to Blue Lake to do a little hike. There was a fresh dusting of snow and I wanted to capture some aerial shots of the blue water contrasted with the surrounding white dusted mountains before we set out. I pulled out the drone and as I pre-checked it for flight, I noticed one of the propeller blades was fitting a bit sloppy. Immediately, I had this thought to change the blades before flying (God’s voice coaching me). But I was in a hurry as it was cold outside and I just wanted to get it in the air, grab a few shots, and get on with our hike. I dismissed the fleeting thought and proceeded to launch. Things were going great and I could see the shots I was getting were spectacular. I brought it down without incident, changed the battery, had the fleeting thought about changing the propellers (which was God’s second nudge), and put it back up in the air for a couple more shots from a different perspective.

Needless to say, at maximum altitude, I lost a propeller and the drone came crashing down and was totaled. I’m sure you understand my instant regret. God, you told me about the propeller and I decided to disregard it. My one consolation was the photos I was able to take and I was excited to get them on the computer. We got back home to download the photos, and as I reached to grab the SD memory card from the drone I realized it was gone! The memory card does not just “fall” out of it’s slot. It is locked in. But the impact must have caused it to eject.

God spoke to me again. “Go back up there and get your memory card. We took some beautiful shots.” What? That’s like finding a needle in a haystack. There was snow on the ground, the drone crashed in field grass, and it was almost dark outside. Additionally, the mini SD card is only about the size of my thumbnail.

I told Roxanne this conversation I was having with God and asked her if she thought I should go back up there and look. It was forecast to snow that night and I knew there would be no finding it the next day. We jumped in the truck and as the last daylight was disappearing arrived at the crash site. Now I did not know exactly where it crashed – I mean I couldn’t find the imprint of the drone in the grass. We looked for awhile with flashlights with no success. God spoke, “over there across the little ditch”. I spoke it out to Roxanne and then stepped to where God was showing me. I shined the light and caught a gleam of metal. There before me the copper contacts of the SD memory card reflected the light in my eyes and I reached down and grabbed that tiny little card, laying on top of the snow and field grass completely undamaged.

I put the card into the computer and downloaded all the photos successfully! God spoke to me, “I love you, Jeff. I now how important these photos are to you and because of that they are also important to Me. Remember, we agreed to do photography TOGETHER. It’s interactive. That means trust My expertise, advice, and ideas. It’s not about the photos. It’s about the activity being an interaction of love between us and a manifestation of My glory to you and all who enjoy the photos.”

There may have been some moist eyes as He spoke so gently and kindly to me and I gratefully agreed.