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But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 1 Timothy 5:4 NIV

Passion – the past decade’s buzz word. Discover your passion and immerse yourself in it and your days will overflow with joy! But sometimes, do you ever find yourself scratching your head wondering if you got it all wrong? You realize one morning your passion’s steeped in hard work and toil overflows more than joy?

So, you sit back and wonder where you miss-stepped and how your passionate giddy traded itself for toilsome groans. Or, maybe you find yourself pushing your passion aside making room for immediate needs, emergencies, and family crises and during a rare solitary moment you ask yourself when your desire will ever return; question if it truly was your heart’s desire.

For years, writing defined my passion; that pursuit for the perfect words, rhythm and flow. But, when family crises unfurled in 2013- and continue full force like a runaway freight train- I set aside my writing without hesitation to serve my loved ones in need. Truth be told, the words laid themselves down; ran scarce before I realized they were gone.

Week after week with barely a word scratched down, I discovered that words and the writing were not my true passion.

That’s right! I confess it here before you all – writing is not my passion! But, I discovered what is my true passion: F A M I L Y.  Family is my true passion – the nurturing and caring and relationships. When I reminisce, it’s not the writing I recall (although it’s been my favorite form of expression), but rather, it’s the family moments and the God-in-the-midst-of-family moments that I remember most.

When a loved one suffers, I suffer. When they call for help, I drop everything (even my words) and tend to their needs if I’m able. What better way to express my love even if I grow weary and at times seems more toil than joy? Timothy spoke of this in 1 Tim. 5:4 and defined caring for our loved ones as “putting (our) religion into practice” a form of “repaying (our) parents and grandparents” for all they’ve sacrificed for us. And, he said, “this is pleasing to God.”

Yes, writing is my sweet spot; it makes my lips curl upwards and sets my heart singing, but family is my real passion, my message and passing God’s teachings and love from generation to generation is my greatest joy.

What’s your heart’s greatest passion or desire? How do you make time for it when life interrupts?

Taking a breath,

Dawn Aldrich