Figuring Out the Passions of Your Heart

Here's my story, hopefully it helps you realize your own passions.

I was working weird hours that didn't allow me to have much of a social life or go to church. I was just going through the motions because that's all I thought I could do.

I was working with animals though which has always been a passion of mine. The Animal Behavior class I took in college helped me decide how I wanted to work with animals and that was how I ended up at the zoo.

When I switched jobs I finally had free time and wondered how I should give of my time.

I was trying out different churches and attended a service that focused on the youth group. I've always been fond of kids but I never realized it was a passion of mine. Hearing about the youth group and the kids, my heart woke up to the fact that this might be a new calling.

I talked about this calling with my friend and he suggested volunteering with youth groups. I contacted one of our friends who was a youth director and asked if they needed volunteers. It was nice to work with them because that level of comfort was there, but actually trying to jump in with a youth group was kind of hard for me. I'm an introvert who likes my comfort zone. Luckily some of the kids were extroverts and included me. I didn't quite feel like I fit there though, and I found out one of my youth director friends had switched churches. I checked it out and felt like I could connect there, that I could build relationships, and be a person those kids could come to.

While I was volunteering with the youth, which were aged 6th-12th grade, I still felt a calling for younger kids. And even more specifically, orphaned kids.

Another passion of mine is traveling. Little did I know in a year I would be called to put those two passions together and go out of the country and love on kids in need. I traveled with a church group to Costa Rica, Belize, and India, and traveled with a friend to a ministry in South Africa.

UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES!

I was to the point where I considered living in another country and working with a ministry taking care of kids, I enjoyed it so much. In South Africa and India we worked with mostly orphaned kids.

Looking back it's always so crazy to me the chain reaction that led me to that point.

• I attended a church service that focused on their youth program.

• A friend let me volunteer with their youth program.That same friend was the person who connected me to the South African mission trip and helped raise funds for me to go.

• My coworker (at my new job) went to the church I went on the other 3 missions with. They put me in touch with the head lady of missions who was kind enough to add me to their teams and help sponsor my way.

• God provided the means to which I had money to go on these missions. And He's the one who put kids and travel on my heart in the first place.

• The trip to Africa reaffirmed my wanting to help kids and I joined Big Brother Big Sister when I returned home.

Opportunities will come to you randomly. Or they'll seem that way to you. If you start sharing what you like, what your passions might be, and then find outlets for them, you'll realize that it's either not for you or that it's something you've been missing in your life. Opportunities or realizations might come from a friend, a family member, music, quiet time, nature, etc.

Here's a link I found that asks 7 questions for you to delve into if you're still looking for your calling or how to incorporate passions into your life.

One of Cody's passions is music and he has used that outlet playing for churches and in Christian bands. He's crazy talented. Cody's passion started when he was a kid.

Mine didn't hit me until I was in my mid-20s. But it hit at a perfect time in my life, a time where I felt secure in who I was and I could travel for a week or more at a time. I felt lost for so long but then it all clicked together and magical things happened.

The next calling Cody and I felt was to parenthood and we're now raising our boy. I'm also feeling called to write and share stories.

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What are some of your callings/passions? How do you live them out?

When & where did you get hit by an epiphany?

Have you ever looked back and recognized how it all came together? Why certain opportunities were missed and why others came through?

Pretty cool huh?!