Passion

I've been listening to a song lately that talks about the way God pursues us by initiating a love affair with us from our earliest days. It can take many different forms through the stages of life, but the common denominator is passion. Watching Ben and Bethany this week as I signed them up for sessions of baseball and ballet gives me a chance to experience it all again through their eyes. Bethany twirling around the house, asking me to curl her hair and polish her nails. ("But God already made us beautiful--we just add a little sparkle!") Benjamin sleeping with his "batting gloves" on, and wailing a cloth ball around the house to practice his pitching. It all evokes a heavy sigh from me as I remember experiences like that.

God created us to be passionate. I wonder why he allows us to direct it anywhere else besides towards him. But I can't deny that in my kids, it seems completely intrinsic to who they are. I wonder what he'll do to get their attention along the way, to help them see that he evokes a far bigger sigh than either dance or baseball when we see him for who he is. And what is my role as a parent in this process?

For now, I have no doubt whatsoever that God can use my childrens' passions to bring glory to himself. I also have no doubt that he can show himself to them as worthy as he is of their highest desire, their greatest longing, their deepest love. I wonder, how am I doing at making him the object of my passion?