This week Bonnie asked if we had any God-given interests and passions that we've put to the side. She suggests that it might be time to "start believing God placed them in you for a purpose".
As I began to consider answering her question, I started jotting down a few thoughts. This wordle says much about my passions and interests.
It's very interesting to me that many of those passions had been placed on hold for a variety of reasons.
CHILDREN
I always imagined being married and having children. But alas, I had fertility issues. Despite several painful surgeries, we were unable to have children.
But God ...
In the midst of some very challenging circumstances, I had to return to work last year. Since I had worked as a cardiovascular nurse specialist for 25 years, that might have seemed like a logical choice.
However, since I had retired from that career path more than five years earlier I would have had to return to the university for a refresher course. So I took a job in a private school working with little children.
God knew what I needed and exactly when I needed it.
I get to spend my days with three year old children who are delighted to learn new things. Just last week they were each given a popsicle to see what happens to them in the Phoenix heat. Of course, they started to melt but not before they each got a taste. They used the melting popsicles to paint a picture.
LOVE
Since becoming a Christian, I've had a heart filled with love. I get to share that love with my husband and family. But now I also get to share it with children. And that ...makes me smile.
BLOGGING
I love to write. I've kept journals for years. I've written a few short stories (never published). I guess writing goes along with my love for books and reading. And blogging has become a natural extension of that.
I began blogging as a way to help my husband in a technology company he was starting. Social media was becoming a new marketing means. But in the process, I found something else I loved. The surprise for me were the relationships that developed online with other bloggers. I've come to love so many and have actually met about a dozen face to face. There's something so special when you already know a person's heart and then get to meet them.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography is something that I've loved since the late 1970's. I purchased my first 35 mm camera and took a photography workshop. We learned about f stops and ISO and composition. We even took a field trip for night photography.
It's become much easier now with digital photography. My Nikon D70 is my constant companion. And yet, I've never even completely read my manual. I figure things out as I go. I've not taken the time to focus and learn all I could learn to develop my skills. I believe God has prompted me to get more serious now as I love to photograph the children at work.
FAITH, TRANSFORMATION
In the past 15 years, I've become more passionate about my faith. I long to grow and reflect God's love more fully. I've found that it's in the midst of trials, that I cling to Him. And He chisels away at my 'self life' and asks me to trust Him. I'm learning and growing and it's an ongoing project.
I'm so thankful that Bonnie asked us this question. It has stimulated many thoughts in my mind. My prayer is that God's desires for my life would become my desires.
How about you? Do you have any God-given interests and passions that you've placed to the side?
Blessings and love,