That First Step.

As you might have noticed from posts like this and this, I have been thinking about purposeful living quite a bit.  We all have been blessed with life; some with lives of ease and some who seem to constantly struggle, but life nonetheless.  How we choose to love our lives can change our course.  We can go through life, happy when the good winds blow and sad when struggles come, or we can choose to live purposefully.  I like to call it "passionate living."

Passionate living is our choice to be joyful DESPITE our circumstances.  It doesn't mean we will never be hurt or never have struggles but it means that those things don't break us.  It means having a purpose whatever you are doing.  It means being passionate for the live you have, not the life you want.    

 

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I don't think passionate living comes naturally.  But how do we start?  We start with God.  We empty ourselves so that God can move.  We let go of our expectations to be blown away by God's plans.  To be completely honest, this is something that I really, REALLY struggle with.  When I was a little girl, or even a teenager, I definitely did not expect to be where I am now.  At (almost) 22, I am still a student, I have no potential spouse, and I don't really know where my life is headed.  I am not saying this to complain, I am saying this because I need to let go of those things.  Because God has far better plans than any plan I could have made for myself as a kid.  However, if I hold on to those things, I keep God from working out His plan.  None of this is to say that we can't have hopes and dreams, but when those hopes are shattered, we need to let go.  Let go of bitterness and hurt.  Let go of relationships that have torn you up.  Let go of the desire to control everything.  

Empty yourself so that God can fill you up.  

 

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That, I believe, is the first step in learning to live passionately.  I'm thinking of making this a series, so be sure to stop by next week for more on passionate life!