While listening to Andrea Bocelli yesterday, i began contemplating the concept of passion – not the throw-down-have-my-wicked-way-with-someone kind, but the kind that drives us to Action, pushes us to Care, opens our hearts to LOVE – especially the love of God (receiving & giving of…)
‘Com-passion’ is to suffer with, which implies deep feeling. When you boil it down, passion does involve FEELING(s) vs. apathy or dullness or ‘not caring.’ (You can actually hate someone or something passionately…)
It does make you think… you don’t have to Be Married (or in a relationship) to get into Passion grooves – to do our ‘enjoy life to the fullest’ bits, or to, like REALLY CARE about people, stuff, issues … & what we do all the time (to have a passion for it? to do it ‘passionately?’)
Maybe during Lent we need to ask God for a little More Passion. To make the dreary doldrums of our lives a bit more lively with LOVE (the Heavenly Kind) – to paint the inner bits of our beings with deeper colors…vibrant, not dull.
Not for wimps, that prayer… if you ask for “passion” & then think about it… yes, it’s nice to care a bit more, love more Apage-ish style, but then remember the Passion of Christ. Not sure I want to go there, exactly, but if we’re passionate enough about something (issue, injustice, cause) or someone(s) (our mates, family, loved ones, friends, people group) to completely sacrifice ourselves (by the grace of God)…
Hey, that’s Passion with a capital “P”…
Jesus did call us to ‘deny ourselves, take up our cross & follow Him!”
Daily.
But, maybe we’re feeling borderline apathetic (Apathy is a strong word, let’s re-phrase) – Too Tired To Care very much about much of anything. Maybe our hearts are in deep freeze while our moldy minds & mildewed spirits struggle with the cold.
But Passion melts the ice & begins kindling moldy mildew …
… & there it is. A few sparks. Then FIRE…
We see the Passion of Jesus with new eyes; His sacrifice is our Light. As we trudge about known by His Love, passion flames our spirits into a brighter blaze for His Kingdom.
… & we Care … & we DO … & we LOVE…
…because (HE asks us to!)
grace, peace & passion
Virginia : )
“The most powerful weapon on earth is the soul on fire.” Ferdinand Foch
Roses in the Rubble 
Hello Dear Virginia,
You embody the passion you write about. Your whole life is dedicated to caring for those you love and when not them, for the poorest of the poor. Thank you for the humbling example you are to me. I LOVE your posts and read them often with tears.
Hugs and love,
Lisa
LISA! Thanks so much for your very encouraging comment (you always seem to blast potential doldrums into smithereens into the Light! : ) …i can’t think of a more passionate person than YOU (not just because you like to wear purple, too : ) ..but thinking about it today, passionate people are really ALIVE with the love of God. Fully present. – that is SO VERY YOU. A passionate heart for God overflowing…
lots of grace, peace, love & HUGs back to you (& prayers, too!) – Virginia