When Passions Rule the Day

This week, I've found myself reflecting on people's passions.

My 9 yr old is passionate about football. My 8 yr old loves anything to do with strategy. My 6 year old can get whisked away to another world when he listens to music or works on art. My 4 yr old, unlike any other 4 year old I've raised, loves clothes. He would dress up everyday in a dress shirt and tie if I let him.

As we get older our passions take on different looks as we take on different seasons in our life. Passions can grow and mature with us, or get buried under the rubble of life. Although there may be times when we need to 'bury' the old and get on with the 'new,' there are times when just get sidetracked, or too busy, or maybe even apathetic about the passions that once enriched our lives.

On Christmas morning, one of my passions of old was re-awakened as I opened my gift from my husband.....a various assortment of art materials...charcoal paper, sketching pencils, watercolors and acrylics. (We had just watched one of our favorite movies, 'The Notebook,' a few days before. Hmm, did he envision me sitting in the sun room draped with only a blanket as I painted the landscape around me?..........well, dream on, my sweet man!!) ANYWAY..... since we have a house full of young ones, we were up bright and early on Christmas morn. We'd opened up all the presents and eaten breakfast by 8:00. So by 8:15 I'd pulled out my sketching pencils, charcoals and paper and went to it. My Grandpa Jude had given me a photograph of himself a couple of years ago (I'll save that story for another day). It was a small wallet size (only about 1 inch by 2 inch) black and white of him in his Unites States Marine Corp outfit. He'd kept that picture in his wallet since1944. To have it in my possession is a great honor. As the boys and their daddy enjoyed playing with their new 'toys' I tried to reproduce that little portrait of my Grampa onto an 8.5 in x 11 in piece of charcoal paper. It wasn't an exact likeness of the original, but it was completed with love and with passion. I gave it to my Grampa later that day when we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family. I'm sure he liked it, not so much the end product, but the love that went in to making it just for him. I know this, because he has made me many things in my lifetime, and it's always the love that it is wrapped in that means more to me than anything. My Grampa is a man of passion, too, although one may not always see it unless he/she looks carefully. His passions go deep; they have been tempered from his life experiences of love and war.

When we present our passions wrapped in a blanket of love, they are often well received...even when one's passion does not reflect the passions of another. But if we forget the love, we fail miserably. This thought is reflected in I Corinthians 13:1....If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

I was recently confronted with a resounding gong and a clanging cymbal. What bothers me the most is that the passion I encountered could have been more effective in helping me had it been wrapped with love. Instead, the love was wrapped around the passion itself, instead of the person to whom it was directed...me. A few weeks ago, I had visited an Integrated Medical Doctor to get some direction and wisdom on supplements that would help me through the chemotherapy process. He was very helpful and knowledgeable and gave me a list of suggestions. About a week later I went to a health food store. I quietly picked up a few of the items, but wasn't sure about one of the items on the list. I decided to ask the man behind the counter for some help. What happened next is a bit of a blur! For the next twenty minutes, the man spoke non-stop. It was a crash course in breast cancer, modern medicine, and supplements. He never asked me about myself, he never asked me what knowledge I'd already gained during this journey or what resources I'd investigated. Instead, while he printed off articles from his computer and made copies from books behind his counter, he rattled on about he and his wife's bad experiences with the medical profession and about how I needed to 'get educated on these things' and how I needed to 'present myself to God as one approved.' His voice never stopped, his passion never ceased. I'm not even sure he even knew I was there after a while. As the storm finally calmed, I stood before him with the few items I had gathered from my list. They were spread out on the counter. He told me to leave and 'get more educated' and then come back to see him. I said, 'So, should I just leave all these things on the counter then?' He replied, 'Yep, just leave them there and come back when you're ready.' Well, after the twenty minutes of his non-stop noise and uncontrolled passion, I walked out of the store empty handed and with a big headache! I did take a moment when I got home to read through his articles, they were somewhat informative but not altogether helpful. This man was knowledgeable, bright and passionate. These are wonderful qualities to possess. Qualities I admire. Unfortunately, on the day I visited, this man's passions ruled the day, and he forgot to wrap them up in love. I've searched my heart. I don't think I'm angry with him anymore....admittedly, I was angry with him as I drove home from his store. But I've forgiven him. I don't believe he meant to hurt me, he was just a man who was lost in his passion for the moment. I plan to go back to see him today or tomorrow to get the stuff on my list. And if the Lord wills, he and I will get to see one another again.

I Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

2 Timothy 2:15: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.