lindsay garner

lindsay garner

photographer.

college student.

sports lover.

adventurer.

artist.

I love stories.

I love sharing them and listening to them.

I’m most passionate about bringing hope to others

through sharing my past and the way that Jesus has changed my life.

Whether I’m doing that through my photography,

leading a small group of middle school girls at church,

or a coffee (actually, hot chocolate for me) date at Starbucks,

I want people to see the new life I have found 

& find hope that Jesus can do the same in their lives.

In 8th grade my life started on a downward spiral

that lasted until my freshmen year of college...

I was desperate to find love, value, and acceptance

but was looking in all the wrong places.

 boys. hook ups. parties.

What I thought would fill me up left me even emptier than before.

Each time I went searching and got let down,

I fell further into a spiral I couldn’t seem to break free from.

I was consumed with shame and guilt
every second of every day for the choices I was making.

Meanwhile, despite all the bad decisions and guilt,

I was excelling at one of the things I loved most: field hockey.

Every time I stepped on the field I felt at home and my problems disappeared.

I adored the game and couldn’t get enough if it.

I started playing in 8th grade all the way through 12th grade.

In 10th grade I started playing year around in hopes of reaching my biggest goal –

earning a field hockey scholarship to a Division One college.

It was clear by the summer between my junior and senior year

that my dream was going to become a reality.

I was receiving offers from schools wanting me to play for them,

and after some visits to those schools, I decided on Temple University.

I verbally committed to playing for Temple in July 2009 before my senior year.

In January 2010 during my senior year,
I officially signed the National Letter of Intent,
which is a legal document stating that I accept the scholarship offered
 & commit to playing for Temple University.

Fast-forward to the summer before going off to college..

It was the middle of July and I had to be at field hockey preseason on August 11th.

Still making destructive decisions, one of those ended up causing me to decide

it wasn’t best to go to Temple and play field hockey.

About 2.5 weeks before my dream was about to come true,

it crumbled before my eyes...

Everything I had ever wanted and worked for was gone.

It was one of the worst days, if not the worst day of my whole life.

Despite all the emotions I was feeling, I had to think quickly.

It was almost August and I needed a new college to go to...

I applied to PA College of Art and Design (PCAD) to major in Photography.

Throughout high school I was always taking pictures.

I took all the art classes my school had to offer, so art school sounded exciting to me. 

A few days after I applied I found out that they only accept 50% of applicants.

I lost all hope of getting in.

Only 25 days before classes were scheduled to start at PCAD,

I received a letter in the mail.

I was accepted.

My freshmen year of college looked a lot like my high school years.

But finally during my sophomore year of college,

God started to get a hold of my life.

I started going to church and I met people there who began investing in my life.

They taught me about Jesus; His love. His forgiveness. His grace.

Since my sophomore year of college, Jesus has radically transformed my life.

I am a totally different person than I was in high school.

All of the guilt that used to consume my life has been replaced with:

the understanding that I am a new creation in Christ.

He has forgiven me & calls me His beloved daughter.

God has taught me that following Him and living life the way He says

is so much better than one night of feeling good.

He has taught me that the freedom and satisfaction

I had been looking for all those years

only comes when I am obedient to Him.

The boys. the hooking up. the partying.

 all the bad decisions…

they are SO pale in comparison to following Jesus.

Although I wouldn’t ever want to repeat the things from my past,

I’m thankful they are a part of my story

because they have made me into the person I am today.

I constantly used to ask the question,

“how could all of the sin from my past ever be used for good?”

Jesus is currently in the process of answering that,

in bigger and more glorious ways than I could have ever imagined.

As the Lord has been redeeming my past,

one thing He has put on my heart is the desire to use my past to impact others.

I want to verbally share my story, but I don’t just want to only talk about it.

I also want to come up with creative ways to share.

One big way I do that is sharing through my photography and my art. 

I want to make pictures that reflect the grace and love of God

that’s transformed my heart.

A lot of times this includes making photos that use metaphors

& biblical references for inspiration.

I want to reach all people with my story.

My heart is inclined to share with women;

more specifically middle school/high school aged girls.

Girls who are the same age I was when I began making destructive decisions.

I want to communicate they don’t have to search any further than Jesus 

for the love, acceptance, & the value they so deeply long for.

I want to be a living example that Jesus saves, restores, and transforms;

that there is no place where we can go that will separate us from His love.

connect with Lindsay on

twitter: @LLGarner

her tumblr page