Passion

For the past several years, I’ve been struggling to find my passion -- that one thing that I can get really excited about, that I can’t stop talking about, that gives me joy, that brings me purpose. This search for a passion was largely inspired by my doubts about teaching. When I realized that I didn’t know if I wanted to be a teacher, I started to wonder what I really did want to do. And thus, I started to wonder what I was really passionate about. I know that I love working with kids and I love traveling and I love camp and I love reading and I love jumping out of airplanes…but I’m realizing that all of that is secondary and really quite meaningless when compared with what really matters.

My passion should be about God—my Father, my Creator, my Savior, my Everything. It’s that simple. Why do I make it so difficult? If I’m not truly passionate about Christ, nothing else is going to matter.

I think about how excited I get to watch my skydiving video or to tell people about the experience or to think about doing it again. If you watch me in the video, you’ll see that I couldn’t take the smile off my face—I was so stinkin’ excited! How much more should I be thrilled to spend time with my God and to tell people about him? If I am willing to risk my life by jumping out of an airplane purely for my own pleasure, how much more should I be willing to risk my life for the sake of Christ?

I can say that I believe, but it isn’t real unless I live it.

What does my life say to the people I know? What does it say to the people I don’t know?

I’ve been thinking about 1 Peter 3:15 – “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Our concern should be not only in being prepared to give an answer, but, primarily, in living in a way that provokes the question. I believe that a life that is truly passionate about Christ would have everyone asking. I want to live that way.

Life

I came home a few days ago to find a not-so-pleasant surprise on my doorstep. Right in front of my porch someone had left me a squirrel. A dead squirrel. It was disgusting! (I know you’re all probably super disappointed that I don’t have a picture to share. :P) Fortunately, I know a nice guy who was willing to come dispose of it for me :), but it got me thinking…

Now, I’m not a huge fan of squirrels, but I don’t have any big problems with them. They’re kind of cute sometimes. But there was nothing at all cute about the one on my step. Because it was dead. The life was gone. It made me think of when goldfish die. They’re fun to watch when they’re swimming around the bowl, but when you find them belly up, they’re just gross. And to stretch this thought a bit further…think about going to a funeral…even the most beautiful person (inside or out) is not all that attractive in a casket (not to be insensitive). The only genuinely beautiful things about us are our souls, our spirits, our personalities – our Life. That which is temporary and earthly, our flesh, is disgusting in and of itself. It’s the immortal part of us that makes us beautiful.

It’s a shame that we spend so much time and effort working on the outside and tend to ignore what really counts…