What's your passion?

Once upon a time...... I was looking for a new house in a town I once lived and ran across a home out in the country. I had my list of things that I wanted in a home and one of the items on my list was property, not just a yard, but lots of property. That item is still on my list today. This home that we toured was the home of a college football coach, a well respected man in his profession. His wife was well known as well, but not for football. She was known as the football coaches wife. Her life always looked glamorous. She always seemed to be surrounded by people as if she had lots of friends, but in fact, these people were just associations of her husband. She was his shadow. She went everywhere he went and was known as 'coaches wife'. I felt sorry for this lady while watching her as if her identity was solely that of her husband. Who was she without him?



Who was she really? I got a glimpse of who she was one day when I walked into her home. She was selling her house and I got the pleasure of a grand tour. The attraction of her home for me was that of her country property. However, with a new child on the way I knew the property was not going to be checked off my 'must have' homeowner list any time soon.



This 'coaches wife' was far from my original thought which was a shadow of her husband. I got an all new perspective once I entered her home. She had an amazing passion for art, particularly marbles. She accompanied her husband in his job related games and the like because she loved him and supported him and out of this love that they had for each other they made their house a home. She gave of herself because he was her passion.



When I entered her home I stepped onto rustic wooden floors that created a warmth of being home. Every nook and cranny of the home was filled with glass jars toppled over with colorful glass marbles. The art work on her walls were not the traditional pictures, but splashes of abstract paint framed and called art. This home was inspiring for the eclectic and for the emerging artist or professional one for that matter. Her home was full of life and passion and love.




I've been thinking about my passion. Maybe I've let my passion die. Maybe I've let 'me' become my children. Maybe I have become the husband's wife. I have put quite a bit of thought into this idea especially since my children are growing up and taking on a life of their own. Who am I? What would the stranger see if they walked into my house. Would they be inspired? Would they see passion? Something to consider when thinking about marbles.



Christ had a passion. His passion was to teach people love. His passion was to show us what love was through his life. He lived it, he preached it, he died for it for us. We were his passion.



I don't want to loose myself to marbles, merely because that is not my passion nor do I want to find something just to substitute for my time well spent with my children. I believe in this time of renewal during Lent maybe I am trying to hard on the "renewal" part of Lent. Maybe I haven't let my passion die. Maybe I haven't become my children or the 'husband's shadow. I do believe I have died to self to love one another. I love my children and my husband with a passion. Passion is not only Love, but it is Agony, as well. Jesus' love for us was not always fun. It was hard work and pain and eventually death. He died to himself and gave to others. I am trying to focus on renewal of myself and my passion during Lent. In a fairytale, passion may just seem way to glamorous, like the role of the football coaches' wife. I think in dying of oneself we can find that passion even though it is not glamorous. We can find God. We find our passion through the love and agony of each other.



In HIS humbling way for our sake,
may we follow his example and
share in everlasting life,
through a passion and compassion for each other.



I do have a passion, it's just not marbles and I'm definitely not going to loose any more marbles over this....