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Sunday, April 10, 2011

Coming to Life

I find myself, once again, drawn to Howard Thurman's quote "Don't ask yourself what the world needs.  Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive."  I've been trying to imagine what it would be like to devote myself almost completely to those things that I am passionate about.  So first, I had to come up with a list of those things that make me come alive.

First and foremost, is my faith in and love for the Lord.  Without having Him as the primary relationship in my life, all of the others would not hold the joy, fullfilment and life that they carry.  You might say that my love and passion for Him is what drives all of my other passions.  Secondly, of course, is my family.  No matter what I am busy doing throughout my day, my thoughts are never far from my husband and children and the other members of my family.  With each passing year, they seem to grow more and more precious to me.  I can't imagine life without them.

I think in some form or fashion, these first two things that make me come alive, are basically the same for everyone.  It is from there that I continue my list of things to which, if I could, I would devote the bulk of my time and energy.

First and foremost would be my writing.  When I write, it is because I feel that the Lord has put something on my heart and I have an intense drive to write whatever it is down and share it with others.  I know that the Lord uses my writing to touch others with His love and wisdom.  I can't just sit down and write for the sake of writing.  That is why you will notice that there are times when I don't write for a month or so and then other times that I write three posts in a week.  I want the Lord to use me as a vessel to pour Himself through, so that others feel valued and precious.  Writing makes me come alive!

My next passion is my photography.  I have no desire to shoot professional portraits, but instead, to take pictures of nature.  One of the ways God touches me is through His handiwork.  I see beauty in the oranges, yellows and reds of fall, the whites of winter, and the colorful flowers of spring and summer.  Some of my favorite object to photograph are leaves and water.   Photographs tell powerful stories and evoke strong emotions without ever saying a word.    Photography makes me come alive.

My passion for nature photography leads me to my next love, which is gardening.  My garden includes flowers, vegetables and herbs.  I find myself needing to be surrounding by plant life.  You will find fresh flowers in my house no matter what time of year it is.  Luckily I have a wonderful husband who brings me flowers all winter long.  Nature and gardening makes me come alive.

I am slowling moving towards giving more of my time to these passions.  As I do that, I will feel more and more alive, therefore, becoming a brighter light to the world around me.  Do you know what makes you come alive?  Are there things that you do, that when you are doing them, you feel like you are touching the world around you.  It doesn't have to be in a big showy way...just a quiet knowing that you are having an influence right where you are.

I would challenge you to spend some time thinking about what makes you come alive.  Once you realize what that is, you can begin to figure out ways to have that take up more of your time and thoughts.  Then...go do THAT!  You will find an overwhelming sense of peace, joy and fulfillment.  That's what I'm doing!

7 comments:

  1. Awesome! Love this! We have the same loves. Now, if I could just get out to take those photos and tend a garden! LOL

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  2. To me, "come alive" is meaningful in two senses. The first is to be fully aware and engaged in the present moment. The second is to care a lot about something, to have passion. I've had this driving me several times in my life, and I'm pleased with what that helped me accomplish. These days, I want to make parents more aware of what teens are going through so they can be there for them, help them prevail during their teen journeys....

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  3. Wow, Denny, I didn't know that about you...the vision for helping teens by helping their parents. That's awesome and sooo needed. You are a blessing!
    ~Erin

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  4. This puts things into perspective for me. I had never thought about finding what I liked to do and doing it to not lose myself. Erin you truly have my wheels turning in my head now. Thanks for enlightening me on coming alive. Pam

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  5. That's great Erin, I'm constantly raising an eyebrow about how much we have in common. I'm thankful God gave me an appreciation of nature. I've found tremendous harmony in the way He 'syncs' life. It gives me peace to know that whatever is happening in my seemingly chaotic atmosphere, that flower smiles at me or that new vegetable I was about to give up on shows improvement, or like this weekend - He brought my son and his girlfriend to church and they LIKED it. There is something in me that needs to know my hands matter :) When God shines on me through His creativity, it's like a hug. He knows I need that, and THAT makes me come alive. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to share that with you. ~Susan

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  6. Two peas in a pod, you and I. With my sons (8 and 5) becoming more independent, I'm now able to turn some attention back to other passions, and I'm having a blast. You're so correct - I feel I'm a better mother, now more than ever, because I may focus on other loves. Rejuvinating to say the least!

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  7. Thank you so much, Ash! Isn't it wonderful to feel like after so many years of pouring yourself out, you are now getting "filled up" again. Blessings on your journey!

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Thank you for giving us a little nugget of truth from your heart!

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