Passion

As I have continued to ponder the question on what I am passionate about, and I have read your emails to me and several blog posts, I am more grateful than ever that we serve such an awesome God.

One of my dear friends said this to me in her email...

"When I read your blog this morning I was totally taken back cause it's the exact thing I've been thinking and praying about...what my passion is and where I want it to lie. I've been praying and telling God that I just want Him to be what I am passionate about again. I don't want to focus on what I don't have, what I look like, what will make me feel better for the moment, but I just want Him."

This seems to be a theme. When we think about it, God is what we really want to be passionate about but somehow we get sidetracked.

I responded to the email above saying, "God is so good and he longs for us. I think that is why we as Christians get in a funk when we get lost in life and our auto pilot starts filling the place of longing with something else. I know that I never do it purposely, but it happens and then I start feeling lost somehow. I praise God that He waits paitently for me."

God does wait patiently for us. What an AWESOME GOD we serve!!! And not only that, as we become passionate about Him, He fills us with passion for the things that He is passionate about and, I believe, that makes our light shine brightly. It's those passions that others see and determine whether they see Christ in me or not. I mean, when I am passionate about God, then I can't help but be passionate about loving others, about serving others, about helping others know that God loves them too. And that doesn't mean that I have to have the gift of evangelism or teaching or any other thing that may seem so out of reach. That means that my passions that on the surface may seem less than spiritual, when motivated by my passion for Christ, are how the passions God gave me are played out in everyday life. For example, I believe that my friend Jen's passion for photography stems from a passion to love and serve others. Just have a conversation with her about why photography is exciting to her and you will come to the same conclusion. I believe that my friend Brandi's passion for writing music stems from her passion to help others see God. Again, just have a conversation with her. I believe that my friend Christy's passion to be a great mom and wife stems from her passion to be Christlike - you'll agree, have a conversation with her. And I believe my friend Annie's passion for teaching grade school kids, stems from her passion to make a Godly difference in those kids lives. We all have passions that show up in our life, sometimes for a season and some that last forever. For me, I pray that the ones that shine brightly stem from having God's passion and the ones that don't come from that place get quenched so they can be replaced with ones that do.

Leslie has followed up the question with a challenge to ask our friends and family what they think we are passionate about. So I pose the question to you, "What do you say I am passionate about?" Email me, reply to this post or give me a call. But please be honest with me, and please do it soon. AND I don't want you to just tell me what you think I want to hear. I want to know what really shows, because that is the only way that I can grow.

I'll follow this up with what I learn next week.