What's Your Passion?

I was just telling my oldest son on Friday night that when he follows God, and gives his life fully to Him, then God will give him a passion for something that will eventually become his life's work.  He is only 11, but is a thinker and planner like his Mom, and is already wondering what he will do when he grows up.  I experienced this very thing. 

I graduated high school and went to college, but had no real plan.  I just sort of drifted into THREE majors.  I had no direction.  Of course I pared my majors down to two to keep myself sane.  I was a Theatre and English major.  Theatre because I had fun doing shows, and English, because I love to read.  The major that I dropped was History.  I figured I could get the History through the English major, which I did.  I enjoyed all that I did while in college, but during that time in my life, I was not truly seeking God.  I had no real passion for anything, but had a lot of fun doing just about everything.  I was in the college choir, a member of the Campus Activities Board (I was responsible for Special Events on campus), a member of a gospel singing group called New Life, was constantly busy working on shows at the theatre, not to mention all the reading, paper writing, and rehearsing that went in to my majors.  I was constantly busy.  Constantly.  It got to the point that I finally burned myself out by the end of my junior year, and I took a year off from school to recover.  What a crazy year that was.  Still, with no passion, I spent that year adding more fun things on my list of things-to-do, but never had a real passion for anything.

Fast forward about five years, and I was married and expecting our first child - that thinker and planner I told you about.  :-)  My husband and I were realizing that we had nothing to offer this child apart from God, so we began to seek Him, and our lives have never been the same.  As I began to seek God, He began to place that passion in my heart for something that I had been wondering if I would ever have.  He gave me the passion for being a wife and a mother, and I know without a doubt that I am exactly where God wants me. 

But just because I know what my passion and life's work is doesn't mean that it's always easy.  It is a constant struggle to give what I need to my family because more often than not, I would prefer to read a book, knit, scrapbook, take a nap, EXERCISE!  I wrote another post about this very issue here.

Today at church was the first time it occurred to me that God uses the passions He places in our hearts to make us more holy.  Like I wrote, there are times that I would rather not make dinner or do math.  But I do these things because I love my husband, kids, and remember the passion that God has given.  Our pastor is taking us through a tour of Romans, and a verse in chapter six hit me between the eyes today.  Verse 19 says, "For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness."

As I make my will and body a slave to the passion that Christ has given me, I become holy.  A "slave of righteousness for holiness."  And I thought that all I was doing was cleaning poopy bottoms and serving up Sloppy Joes!  :-)

We have a truly inspired pastor.  If you would like to hear his messages on Romans for free at your computer, go to the Denton Bible Church site.  Even better, if you have an iPod, you can subscribe to Tom Nelson's messages and listen to them while you're on the treadmill.......