Packed with Passion…

No, I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth…my Christmas just went on and on, and I just realized it is the middle of February!  Actually, I sit before my monitor every day, trying to condense my thoughts into one single theme to write about, and it just doesn’t happen.  Every day, all I have are crazy scattered thoughts, and snippets of seriousness mixed in between the hilariousness of our lives.  Mrs. Ford, my High School English teacher would die if she were to read such nonsensical blog posts…but then again, she has already died, and blogs weren’t around when she was checking up on her star students anyway!  Here goes…

If I could write one word that described my sons, it would be PASSION.  Man, they have got it!  I beg the Lord every morning when my alarm goes off to give me the energy to handle their passion.  It’s not that I want to squash it, change it, or cope with it, but I just want to channel it!  If half the people I personally know had the passion of my boys, and put it to good use, our world would be changed!  But if left unbridled, it often leads to chaos and just intense noise.  Here are a few examples…

Basketball:  B and N had never touched one until four months ago.  When they signed up for their team, N rode his bike to a hoop down the street, where he shot baskets for an hour or more every single day, keeping a log on the side of the fridge of his stats…all his own initiative.  More than once he shoveled snow off the court in order to “practice”.  Last week, he scored all but 3 points for their team’s 24 – 7 point win in game #4.  In the wee hours of the day of game #1, I was awakened by grunts and heavy breathing outside my bedroom door.  I groped my way through the darkness to find B fully dressed, lifting weights and doing push ups in the hallway.  I stared at him in disbelief, and his reply…”w’sup?”   It was 4:50 A.M.!!  He was getting ready for the big game.  Last week he stole the ball and had more breakaways than I could keep track of.  Passion…hoop style.

Giving:  Having lived off of other people’s hand-me-downs all their lives, B & N cannot walk or drive past a beggar on a street corner without scurrying to find something to give.  We live in the middle of small-town America, and quite honestly, don’t see many homeless people.  When we do, we hold up traffic, trying to get to that person.  Recently, N was trying to get his boots off in time to pass them out the car window to a lady in need.  We got swallowed up in traffic, and he was so mad that I couldn’t stop long enough that he wouldn’t talk to me for a couple of hours.  Lesson learned…be prepared!  Passion knows no boundaries.

School:  The passion demonstrated here needs the most channeling, haha!  They would rather die than go to school late.  They would rather cheat than to do an assignment different from the other kids.  They would rather get up an hour early to study spelling words than to get one wrong on the test.  They want to be the best, and they want it right now!  In their four months of learning English, they have come a very long way, and yet they have so far to go.  We have had to pull in the reigns a bit, in order to sort out priorities in their learning.  There are only so many hours in a day, and only so much their brains can remember.  I can’t wait to see how this plays out in the next few years…passion to learn.

Play:  The other day I heard all kinds of racket outdoors.  When I looked out the window, I observed a neighborhood game of …yes, you guessed it…CORN HOLE going on in my driveway, organized by none other than my sons!  Yes, it was February 6th… no, not the middle of July when most true Hoosiers are out there playing Corn Hole.  When it got dark, they turned on the outside lights.  When the neighbors had to go home for dinner, they brought the game into the family room to “finish”.  The score was 86 – 99 or something like that.  They will never quit a game.  Never.  They will play, and get the strangers off the streets to join them if they think it might be fun.   Passion to play the game.

Time:  N & B are passionate about being on time.  They keep one eye on the clock at all times.  If we aren’t a half-hour early, we are late in their estimation.  I cannot tell you how many times we have had to sit in a cold car, waiting for the doors to our destination to be unlocked.  This drives me crazy!  The alternative…being late, is the essence of laziness, so crazed as I am, I’m the proud mama of some passionate- time-responsible boys.

Food:  Oh goodness!  Don’t even get me started!!  $$$

Motion:  Always in motion!  Yes, we are that car sitting at the light that is bouncing up and down to the tunes of  Teddy Afro.  Two black boys doing some crazy thing with their necks and shoulders without abandon.  We almost have to chain them down in a restaurant while waiting for our meals.  The edges of every table in our house have been beaten down by tapping fingers.  Constant motion.  Wishing some of this passion would wear off on me, their all-too-sedentary mama.  Passion to keep moving.

I could go on and on about their passion for life…friends, family, work, etc…   It is at times hilarious, and at times simply draining.  Never a dull moment, never a quiet second in our house.  Jeff and I are asking the Lord to guide us as we teach them the passion of our hearts…Jesus Christ.  At this stage, they are passionate about anything Ethiopian, including the traditional rituals of religion.  We pray for them to realize a heartfelt relationship with Christ one day.  We have no doubt that when that comes, their passion to serve Him will kick in!