Passion and Purpose

What are you passionate about?

We've all heard it time and time again: You will invest your time in your passions. Recently I've come to learn how my generation may be missing a key detail of what passion really means.When I think of what I'm passionate about - what fills me with purpose and excites me - these things come to mind: hospitality, my family, my marriage, friendships, teaching, healthy living, and encouraging others.I would venture to say that you may come by your list similarly. Your passions would be listed by what fires you up & what you wish you could devote more time to.But did you know the word passion originated in Latin, meaning to "suffer"? No? Neither did I. It makes all the sense in the world, though, when we hear the Crucifixion described as the "passion" of Christ.Passion's true meaning conveys a monumental love willing to suffer.So, I was forced to ask myself: what really is my passion? What ignites my soul in a way that I can't sit back & I can't stay quiet?If I'm being honest: My girls.Nathan and I each lead a group of college students who are in some way connected to the ministry of YoungLife at the colleges around Lexington. I have ten girls that are apart of my small group, each with her own unique personality and walk with Christ. We have all learned so much from one another, and they truly have captured my heart in a way I did not expect.These girls - their deep hurts, hang-ups, struggles, and joys - have penetrated my heart to a point where I can't shake it. I can't shake them. It is time-consuming -- and mentally + emotionally exhausting -- to meet multiple times a week with these girls, go deep with them and sit in their darkness. Many days I tell myself it would be easier, and I would feel safer, not meeting, not being there, not feeling.But I KNOW that God wired me to feel big feelings and to feel them ALL; to have a strong sense of empathy, and to have a heart for the lives of these young women. And once I realized that these dear ones stir the love that makes me 110% willing to suffer for it, I realized that was my passion. And we invest our time and energy into our passions.This knowledge became power. Provided purpose. Re-lit that fire to run hard after them and run hard toward what matters. Sometimes the work we least want to do is the work God most called us toward. And hidden in there is the reward.What stirs you to the point of being uncomfortable, yet you just can't leave it be? Can I challenge and encourage you that THAT is where your time is best spent? Explore. Trust God as you go there, beyond the comfortable places, towards passion.