Where Did All The Passion Go?

As I was thinking about what I would write about this week, I had several different ideas. But one topic that really grabbed me was when a friend told me, "I'm struggling with finding passion in life." This friend is not alone. I have had many friends tell me this exact same thing in the recent months, and I myself have struggled with it as well in the past. Where has all the passion gone? Why do people feel like they live without purpose and direction? How can they get out of this rut they are in?


I'm not a doctor or a scientist or psychiatrist. I haven't studied this topic or done extensive research on it. But I've lived it, and I think there is a lot to gain from life experience, which is why I feel qualified to write about it. Take it for what it is: the musings of girl who has felt the ache of a passionless life, who found passion through God's leading and in God's timing, and now aches for others haven't reached that point yet. To begin: my story. It was the year I graduated with my first associate's degree. I was done with college, and I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do in life. All I knew was that I was not ready to settle down with a full-time job and I had no interest in pursuing the career that my degree was in. I explored one option and then another, all leading to dead ends and closed doors. By the middle of summer I was getting fed up. I am not a directionless person. I have always had a plan and gone for it gun-ho, so wandering aimlessly was extremely frustrating to me. This sounds odd now, but in order to force myself to make a decision about my future and take action I quit my job. It was a job that I had once loved but knew that I could never make a career out of it, and at the time it was just another area that lacked my passion or interest. Looking back I can't say if that was the wisest decision or not, but I know that God used it. But what that did immediately was leave me in a position where I was doing nothing. I was a directionless being with no job and no passion to find another one. This is the essence of a passionless life: You don't have interest in what you are doing currently, and you can't find that one thing that does interest or motivates you. So basically you're stuck with no idea how to get out. This is frustrating. You can't just snap your fingers and suddenly become passionate about something; that's not how it works. So how does one find passion and direction in life?


I'm not going to answer that, because I can't. It's different for everyone and I can't tell you steps A,B, and C that will help you find your purpose in life. I can't help you, but God can. Draw close to His heart and hear His heartbeat for you. Ask Him how you can live your life for His glory. I know this kind of sounds like an oxymoron, because more often than not, if you are lacking passion in life, your relationship with God is also lacking. If you had passion about seeking God than you would not be living a completely passionless life, yes? How can you hear God if you are so far away from God? How can you seek God when you have no desire to seek Him? Again, God can help you. Go to Him and be completely honest. I have told God, "I have no desire to seek You and become close to You right now. But I know that should, so You are going to have to help and bring me to Yourself." And He did, because God is faithful. He did it by bringing a very difficult and painful situation in my life, where He stripped everything else away until the only thing I could cling to was Him. But it worked, and my relationship with God became closer than ever before.


This leads me to the actual purpose of writing this blog. I can't tell you specifically how to find your passion, but I can share thoughts on how to survive the wanderings to get to that point. The most important part is to realize that God is using this season of your life, and that no matter how purposeless it feels, it does have a purpose. I admit that this purpose is hard to see, but you have to believe that God hasn't forgotten you, and that He is molding and shaping you through this dry period. Second, focus on others. There is no faster way to throw pity party for yourself than to continually focus on yourself and your problems and lack of passion. Serve others, serve in your church, help out at the local food kitchen, do something that helps someone else. This not only prevents you from drowning in a sea of hopelessness and passionlessness by putting your life into perspective by interacting with others, but you will also be doing some good in the process. Also, it's amazing how purpose and passion creep up on you when you are helping the least of these. That's how I found my passion for victims of human trafficking, which is another blog for another time. Even if you don't find your passion in life through it, I would be hard pressed to think of a better use of your time. Third, and probably hardest, work on contentment. I know how frustrating it is to live life that lacks passion. It's even harder to be in that situation and be content about it. Being content does not mean that you have to stop looking for your passion and give up, nor does it give you permission to sit around and do nothing to change your situation. It means surrendering your situation to God and being able to say, "This is where I'm at right now, and although this is not where I want to be right now, I will be content with where God has placed me for as long as He wills, and I will use this time to glorify Him." This is not easy to say or do, and it doesn't just apply if your life is lacking passion. Being content is important in any situation you find yourself in. My prayer is that you can say with the apostle Paul: "For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:11.


friends who are searching for passion, my heart goes out to you. While I am sorrowful that you have been led to the desert for a period, I look forward with anticipation to the joy that awaits you when find your purpose and passion. It's not always going to be like this. Be brave. Be strong. Be blessed.

Wow

For my blog this week, I would like you to watch this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRl8Ew6p1xc

In this video, an eleven year old boy shows Christ through the Bible in four minutes. I couldn't come up with something to write about that would be a better use of your time than watching this, so I didn't try. I know that you will be blessed, as I am every time I watch it.

Be Blessed.

I Miss My Friends

Note: Thanks to your prayers and encouragement, my doctor's appointment went as well as could be expected last week. I wasn't exactly overjoyed, but I wasn't terrified, either. To God be the glory!

I've been sick for over a week now. It started out as a fever and lethargy, then other ailments started piling themselves on top. If you're going to have a party, you might as well invite everyone, right? That being said, I have tried to stay at home and get better as much as possible. Of course there were things that needed to get done, but much of my weekly schedule of activities was put on hold. I missed a couple of Bible studies, a Pampered Chef seminar, Ignite (college and career group) and church on Sunday, just to name the regular activities. And now, on the ninth day of my hermitage, I have come to this conclusion: I miss my friends.

I have spent most of my life spoiled with friendships. I am blessed in this area, and I thank God for it. But because of that, as with most things that I have an abundance of, I have the tendency to take it for granted. More often than not, it feels as it my friendships are wearing me down instead of building me up. This is due in part to the fact that I am an introvert at heart, and I rebuild my energy by being alone, not with a crowd. I also have a tendency to overbook my life, so I am always running from one thing to another and I never have a chance to recover. The other aspect of this is that relationships ARE hard work if you're serious about them, and they do take effort. But they are definitely worth it. None of this is a revelation to me because I've known it for a while, but what is new for me is the sadness I feel from being away from good Christian fellowship for only a week.

I miss the light-hearted banter and serious discussions at Ignite. I miss the close bond of relationship and sharing in the joys and sorrows of the other ladies' lives from my women's Bible study, which occasionally does get around to studying the Bible. I miss the wisdom shared by brothers and sisters in Christ who have been beaten by the storms of life and have survived to come out stronger at my small group from church. And maybe most of all, I miss going to church and worshipping as the body of Christ and learning the Word of God taught by seasoned stewards of it. I miss the encouragement. I miss the fellowship. I miss the people who bless me by helping me through life, and I miss being used by God to be a blessing to others.

I hope you realize this isn't a "woe is me" post. My purpose is to get you thinking about your own life and the activities in it, and to see the blessings you have. My other purpose is to help you see if you have an area that's lacking and that needs filled. If you are a Christian, Beloved, than you need godly fellowship on a regular basis. At least once a week, if not more. As you can see, I pretty much fill up my schedule with as much fellowship as I can cram in, but I realize that's not for everyone. And, by the way, just going to activities does not count as fellowship. You have to engage, and be honest and open with people. The most important thing, however, is to go with the mindset of serving others, not to get something out of it for yourself. If that is your attitude, than you will probably be disappointed. Go to church thinking, "how can I bless other through my words and actions?" Go to Bible study realizing that sharing your struggles might help someone else to have the courage to share theirs. I think the tragedy of my generation of Christians is that they 1) don't understand the importance of the body of Christ and 2) don't understand their place in it. I guess that's what I'm trying to get at in a round about way. Perhaps I will do a follow-up post with more details.

Right now I need to go and get a few more things done before tonight. There is a night of worship at my church, and I couldn't be more excited about going : )