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What I've Learn About God From My Children - Passion

I think my daughters are beautiful. I'm sure that every father does so my opinion of their looks is about as fair as a French figure skating judge (reference to 2002 Olympic scandal). Both of my girls have beautiful eyes. Karah's are a sparkling blue and Lauren's are chocolate brown. Their eyes speak about as much as their mouths do and it's amazing how much Jen and I can tell about what's going on just by looking into their eyes.

About three weeks ago Karah learned to ride a bicycle on two wheels for the first time. We had been trying to teach her for a little while and she was starting to get the hang of it until her friend Madi came to visit for the day. Madi is the youngest of 3 children and had learned to ride from her older sister and brother. She picked up Karah's bike and Karah watched as she rode it up and down our street. As soon as Madi's mom picked her up and she was gone Karah grabbed her bike and wanted to try to ride without any help. Within minutes she was pulling wheels up and down the sidewalk and screaming for all the neighbors to come watch her. Well, the wheelies part isn't exactly accurate but I'm sure they will be coming soon. As she displayed her new found skill for me, I couldn't help but notice her eyes. They were huge and screamed with new, two-wheeled passion for life.

About two weeks later Jen and I decided to take the kids for walk. Karah wanted to ride her bike so we threw it in the back of the truck and set off for the town of Cataract which is on the edge of a beautiful park. Karah rode her bike along the trail as Jen and I pushed Lauren in the stroller. As she rode on ahead of us every once in a while she would let out a little squeal of pure passion and when I heard it I got thinking about this topic of being God's children and I had to ask myself, where has my passion for life gone? At some point along the way having passion wasn't cool any more.

I just finished reading Mike Yaconelli's book "Dangerous Wonder" and I've started reading it through again. It is a book calling us to a dangerous, adventurous life following Jesus. It is a call to break out of the dull, passionless existence that so many of us experience and listen to Jesus and see where He takes us. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone but it scares the crap out of me. Why? Because it is asking me to step out of this dull, passionless existence which has become comfortable and predictable. Most days, I want comfortable and predictable but on those days I keep getting poked with the idea that there must be more than this. Jesus spoke many times about coming to give life. This comfort and predictability is an existence...not a life.

When I look at my children I see abundant, wide eyed, passion for life. Maybe this is because they are always pushing the envelope and trying something new. I know Karah was scared to ride her bike on two wheels. What if she fell? What if she couldn't stop the bike? What if her helmet, elbow and knee pads weren't enough to prevent injury. But now that she has pushed through that fear she is experiencing the abundant joy and excitement of riding on two wheels. I think God smiles when He sees that.

It's embarrassing to say that I am trying to work up the courage to live a passionate life but it's true. I suppose that I should try to come up with 6 steps to overcoming my fears and living a life of passion. I haven't done it yet so I'm not sure what those steps are. I'm trying though. I recently got tickets to go see Bon Jovi in January. I've been a Bon Jovi fan since I was in grade 7. It has been a long time since I've aloud myself to really be a fan though. All my friends know that I like Bon Jovi and I listen to their music when I feel like it but I stop short of being a true fanatic. I recently bought the new CD "Have A Nice Day" and it has a lot of great songs on it. Both Karah and Lauren love it. Every time we are in the car we have to play it for the kids. I don't mind. Karah is becoming a true Bon Jovi fanatic. She is learning the names of the band members and she already knows the lyrics of many of the songs. Her excitement is contagious and I have found myself toying with the idea of letting go and being a true fan. Just letting it all hang out. Tonight Karah, Lauren and I watched a DVD of the Bon Jovi Crush tour and it was a blast to be passionate about being a Bon Jovi fan again. We turned the volume up and sang along with all the songs...well, I did. It was a lot of fun. For me, I think this was a step in the right direction. I experienced a little bit of passionate living that was more than just an existence. I think that is a little bit of the passionate life that Jesus wants us to live when He says, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Jesus came to give life. I want to be brave enough to listen to Him. I want to have enough faith to obey whatever He tells me and trust Him for wherever life takes me. I want to take the training wheels off and ride on two wheels. I know that there is potential for bumps and scrapes but I also know that there will be little squeals of pure passion along the way.

posted by Dave @ 9:39 p.m.