This one actually makes me have to stop and think...is it different from what makes me happy? Because it seems like the same things that make me happy are also things I am passionate about.
The first would have to be my Lord and Savior...without Him I am absolutely nothing. With Him, I can do absolutely anything. There is no one else that I would rather have by my side and I am so thankful for the strength, mercy, grace, power, love, hope, and so much more that He daily shares with me, and that I can come to Him daily to be built back up from the daily grind and words of others. My life literally was changed when I realized that God wants to speak to me on a daily basis, not just hear from me...and it is so reassuring to me to go back and read what He journals back to me, after I journal to Him.
The second, I am passionate about children...of all ages. I am drawn to them, and with one exception so far in my lifetime, they seem to be drawn to me too. There is nothing like seeing life through the eyes of a child, or to have them put their hand in yours, or to coax a smile or laugh out of one that is down/pouting. There is also nothing like holding a baby in your arms...and I miss the days where a fussy baby would be handed to me and within minutes they were fast asleep, looking like a little angel with absolute peace on their face. While I physically can not have any more children, it just frees me up to love on everyone else's a little more!
The second passion leads to my third...my heart always goes out to every teen mom I have ever had in my life. There is so much that faces the decision to raise your child on your own, along with fears that you are going to mess it up. I want to be helping those young moms in any way that I can. Which goes hand in hand with my desire to work with adoptions/foster care in any way, shape, or form. Its just where my heart is...and I am excited to see what God does with the degree that I am working on.
Another passion...singing. There is absolutely nothing to me that compares to singing my little heart out to God, especially in a group worship environment. I love to sing! I don't do it near as often anymore, and am not part of a choir or helping to lead worship at this time in my life, but God knows this part of me (He created me this way) and He has already told me that it will happen again sometime when the timing is right. For now, I will just keep praising Him everywhere I go, and enjoying being part of each worship service, from the audience, occasionally being quiet just to listen to the group as a whole.
One more thing...hmmm...besides wanting to live sold out for my God, being around children, helping out others, and singing, I guess the next thing that I am most passionate about at this point in time is finishing my degree. I spend 21-30 hours a week, five weeks at a time, on each class. I am in my last week of my 8th class, which leaves me with only six more to go before finishing Nov 5th. I am absolutely amazed at the way God brought all of this about, and the way that He has enabled me to succeed at this venture. School as a mom adds so many twists, but its not something that I take for granted at all, and this is obvious by how much time I dedicate to working on my school work. I am blown away by my GPA. And I know that without God, I wouldn't have it. The girls are very supportive, especially if my school work does not interfere with what they want to do, and we celebrate the finish of each class. To celebrate graduation, we are planning a senior prom, and we will be inviting the people that have supported us through this adventure to dress up and come dance the night away with us. It gives all three of us something to look forward to!
I think, all in all, the things that I am passionate about do have a lot to do with what makes me happy. I think God has put some crazy God-sized potential in each of us, and the things that we are passionate about in life might have a lot to do with that potential He planted inside us. I hope that I can live a life that gives Him free reign to do whatever He wants with it! Passions and all.
