Passion. Process. Purpose.
Written last March 2018.
Passion. Passion is said to be an extreme emotion. To be passionate about something is to fight for it. Passion is what drives you. Passion keeps you going. To have passion is to keep moving forward, despite the challenges and hardships. I see passion in the pastor’s eyes each time he speaks of what, or who, he believes in — in God. I have heard the passion in the songs every time the musicians sing and play their instruments — their passion for music. I have smelled the passion each time the athletes run, with the smell of sweat dripping down their clothes and their face. Their passion for sports was clear for everyone to see, or rather, smell. I have tasted the passion of the cooks and the chefs. In every delicacy and each meal, their love for food can be tasted as the vibrancy of flavors erupt and explode the moment it touches your taste buds. And I have felt the passion of the teacher. The teacher shows passion in each lesson plan, in every instructional material, in the day to day conversations with their students. The teacher’s passion can be strongly felt through what happens inside and outside the classroom. She can often be seen with sleepless nights and papers to grade. And yet she still does this. The teacher’s passion for teaching is one that refuses to be ignored.
But where does your passion go? Passion drives you to do the things you love and the things you choose to suffer for. But why? The unfolding of turning passion into process appears. It is easy to say you are passionate, but to know why you are passionate demands a process to know what your heart truly desires, and why. You ask the pastor what, or who, they are passionate for, and in a heartbeat, he will answer, “God.” Question the musicians and ask what keeps them going, and they immediately respond with the word, “music” without a second thought. You ask the athletes what drives them and they’ll reply, “their love for sports.” You talk to the cooks and the chefs on why they continue to push themselves, and they will state that it is their passion for creating food. You ask the teacher why they haven’t given up yet, and they will answer that it is their love for teaching the kids that keeps them going. These are their passions, but why are they passionate about it? Surely, there must be a reason. Undoubtedly, there must be a reason. Surely, these passions do not lead to merely that — raw passion. In the process of passion, there must be a purpose. Why are you passionate about God? Why does music keep you going? Why does the love of sports drive you? Why are you passionate about creating food? Why are you passionate about teaching? Passion is powerful. But to know why we are passionate about these things will give us purpose. To bind both passion and purpose will make a person transcend to be someone who exceeds expectations.
Purpose. What is your purpose in your passion? To know one’s purpose in life is, and can be considered, a huge victory in someone’s life, as most people are struggling to know the reason for their existence. But more specific than life, let us focus on the purpose of our passion. The pastor is passionate about God because of what God has done. The musicians are passionate about music because they believe that music can act like chicken soup for the soul. The athlete is passionate about sports because, perhaps, what the sport personally meant for him. The cooks and the chefs create food because of the joy this brings to people. The teacher is passionate about teaching because of her love for her students.
Each person has a purpose in life. And to know the purpose of your passion will make any person exceed because of the process that has taken place. A person fuelled by passion and purpose is deemed to be unstoppable.
As for me, I have found my passion and my purpose in life. I am called to teach. I am called to serve. I am called to change lives. All for the kids. All for the next generation. All for the glory of God.
