There’s a John Deere dump truck prominently situated in our
front yard. And sitting beside it is a
huge pile of pine needles transported from the Austrian pine in our back
yard. This is the boys’ current project,
transporting needles from the back yard to the front yard to make a “nest”. I have no idea what creature, real or
imaginary, is supposed to use this pokey nest, but they’ve embraced it with
such veracity that I can’t be the one to dash their dreams by cleaning it up or
pointing out that the coyotes will devour anything living in a nest on the
ground. So they continue on with the
intensity of soldiers digging trenches during wartime. And I’m left in awe of not only the quiet in
the house, but also the passion they have for this project.
I’ve been noticing people living out their passions this
week. We attended the Colorado Symphony
over the weekend. The director was an
incredibly gifted musician who spent part of his time playing the grand piano
with the symphony and the other part directing.
The stories he told between songs left me with no doubt that this man
was passionate about all things music.
From performing to arranging to memorizing music history, he lived and
breathed music. Every person sitting in
the hall was a beneficiary of his passion.
We were entertained and enlightened with songs and stories of
Gershwin.
But passionate people don’t always bring delight. It’s a Presidential election year, and
passionate political people seem to abound.
Someone else’s passion for a cause or idea that I don’t value in the
same regard leaves me annoyed. And I’m
not going to lie…..people overly passionate about fitness rank at the top of my
list. (Most likely due to feelings of
guilt induced while witnessing the passionate fitness crowd workout while I
dutifully spend thirty minutes on the elliptical while watching “Kelly and
Michael”—HA!?)
I’ve come to the conclusion that passionate people have a
more heavenly role to play than either inspiring or annoying us. Each person who exhibits passion should serve
as a reminder of the way God made us. He
gave each of us special gifts and abilities, which should evoke a passion in
us. Part of our role on earth is to
discover that passion and live it out.
Passionate people should also remind us that we have a
passionate God, and that God’s passion is us!
It’s so hard to fathom. But He
loves us with a passion that caused Him to put a generations-long plan into
place to redeem us from the fall mankind took with the very first human. His passion extends to the details of each
individual’s life. He assures us of this
in Jeremiah 29:11. ‘“For I know the
plans I have for you,” declares the Lord.
“Plans to prosper and not to harm you; Plans to give you hope and a
future.”’
Election day will surely come and go before we make it back
to the symphony, but with my new strategy, even the most annoying politician or
fitness fanatic will serve as a reminder of God’s passion for me. This could be the best election year yet!
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