A Side Note

Two years ago...one of the gerbils who started it all.

This weekend we buried one of our eight (yes, eight, long story) gerbils. My older daughter and younger son were saddened, but otherwise unaffected. My middle daughter, however, instantly broke into tears, which continued off and on throughout the morning. Even now, two days later, she is inspecting the other gerbils for signs of illness and hovering in worry.

My daughter has been an extreme animal lover her whole eleven years of life. It's convenient for her that we are a pet loving family. We've had a ferret, hermit crabs, fish, butterflies, ant farms, turtles, two dogs, and a series of gerbil litters that equaled 24 when all was said and done. We love pets, but when it comes to animals for my daughter, the absolute joy or pain - whichever the situation calls for - absolutely shines through.

And like anything that shines as a light in the darkness, I've learned from it. I'd always kind of shrugged off people's passion for almost anything, even my own for books and reading. I tempered my love of books for years...the only evidence being that I obviously did a lot of reading, as I was always seen with a book or two. I don't know why I tried to overlook people's passion, as this is a newer revelation about myself and I haven't thought it through yet. What I do know is that watching my daughter grow in her passion for animals these past few years has opened me up to watch for the passion in people. Hence this blog I started in July of 2012 as I enveloped my own passion.

Off the top of my head I think of my son, who has loved to run from 18 months of age and has placed first in cross country runs the past two years at his elementary school. My father who (we like to say) can fix or build anything with glue and toothpicks (that may or may not be a stretch). My husband who likes to build things. My older daughter who is a budding fashionista. My close friend who loves to bake. Two friends who love movies and know everything there is to know. Three couples on fire for their ministries and where God is leading them. And a number of my girlfriends who currently have very small kids and inspire me with their passion for motherhood.

Yes, I've noticed passion used as an excuse for losing control and I've seen it overdone, but overall I've enjoyed seeing all the ways in which the good things of the Earth have been covered with the passion of those around me.