What is your thing?

My thing is food. If you don't know that about me yet and you've read my blog, you might be in denial. ;) 

My thing is also Jesus.

Food & Jesus.

What are you passionate about?

Here's the thing: it's okay to be passionate.

People have often made me feel like I'm not allowed to be passionate.  Or that if I am passionate, I need to keep that inside.  Be politically correct, if you will.  I've spent a lot of time trying to squelch my own passion over the past few years.  I even set up little filters on facebook where I try to share food stuff with people who are interested in food or mom stuff with other moms, etc.  That isn't entirely a bad thing, and I really have no intentions of changing that.  But it's representative of the bigger issue.

Peeps be trying to put out my fire!  ;)

You know that famous little Seuss quote from The Lorax about caring?

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!?!

I mean, it's true.  God gave us different gifts.  For some, it's the gift of hospitality.  That's not really my gift.  I try and try and will continue to try until I die, but I get stressed when people come over that my house isn't perfect enough or my food isn't tasty enough or I'll inconvenience someone somehow, etc.  It's not the gift God gave me.  For others, it's the gift of generosity (like my hubby).  I'd say one of my strengths is my sheer determination when I put my mind to learning about something to do it with everything I have.  And then to share it with the world.

Do you know how much of my life I've been trying to suppress that "gift"?  Been embarrassed by it?  Tried to hide it or felt shame because of it?  A lot.

But as Dr. Seuss reminded me, passion can be a good thing.  It's all in your approach.  Years and years ago, I was a passionate and judgmental person.  I looked my nose down on people who didn't see things like me.  I'm so ashamed of that now, in hindsight, but it's the truth.  I thought I had the world figured out and if people didn't "see the light," there was something wrong with them.

Over the course of the last few years, as I've walked with God and grown so close to him, that part of me changed drastically.  It was almost as if He was working in me on exactly this very thing, almost exclusively.  He has humbled me so many times and taught me that I do not have it all figured out.  I do not have the market cornered on how to live.  I do not do things better than the next person just because I do it differently than the next person.  Eventually, my heart just changed.  At first, I had to force myself to stop judging.  Eventually, it just became inherent.  I found myself being judgmental on the inside less and less often.

Back when I was such a judgmental person, I imagine most of what I said went through that filter.  I bet I came off as incredibly egotistical and judgmental and know-it-all.  Sometimes that was probably even my intention, although I promise not all the time.  I hate looking back and knowing how much I might have hurt others with my judgments.

These days, I strive so hard to express my thoughts & opinions without a layer of judgment because there really isn't one!  I know I probably fail, and I probably come off as judgmental when I really, truly am not judging.  It's something I work on everyday.  It's hard to share a passion, whatever it is, without coming off as holier-than-thou.  There's a very fine line there between wanting to share out of a desire to encourage others when you've found something that has changed your life in a good way and being judgy.  Judgy is so yuck.  It hurts people and knocks them down.  I share my passion with a desire to build people up, but sometimes I may choose my words in a way that inadvertently tears them down instead.  That sucks.

Whatever your passion is, don't be ashamed of it.  Don't try to keep it hidden away in your heart.  Perhaps God lit a fire in you for a reason.  Perhaps you can change the world with your passion!  Don't ever feel like you don't have the power to change the world.  We all do.  I may not care about what you care about, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't care about it.  That doesn't mean my heart is closed to new ideas.  I learn everyday, and I love learning from others, even if I'm not quick to admit it.  Sometimes I may disagree with something that, over time, I come to agree with.  But that wouldn't happen without other people sharing their passion.  If you're coming from a place of love and a desire to help others, your passion can be an amazing gift to the world.

Like I love to say these days, check your heart.  If your heart is pure & your intentions are good, share your passion!  Just remember that while it may be something you care about immensely, your best friend/sister/aunt/cousin/coworker may not care at all.  That doesn't mean they're wrong and you're right (or vice-versa).  It just means they're not interested.  And that's fine.

That's probably my biggest struggle of all; accepting that not everyone cares about food.  Because it's one of my biggest passions, I feel that if I could just use the right words, I could make Sally see that changing the way she eats would change her life!  But the truth is, Sally may not need to change the way she eats.  Just because it worked for me or I think Sally needs to change the way she eats doesn't mean she does.

I'll keep sharing my passions as long as my heart keeps beating, constantly keeping myself in check and making sure my intentions are pure.

And if I've ever offended you, you have my sincerest apologies.  Rest assured that just because I care about something doesn't mean I judge anyone who lives a different life than me, caring about different things than me.