In Hot Pursuit

I’ve known for some years that I have a problem. Not only am I not strong enough or in possession of enough stamina to be successful in anything, but I am not passionate enough about anything.

As you know, I write. I am not, however, bursting with ideas, nor am I a stickler for perfection in my writing. I’m not passionate about writing, and one must have passion in order to pursue anything with enough tenacity to be successful in it.

I am also a singer and pianist, and from time to time I write music and have even been known to put together some excellent vocal and even, at times, instrumental arrangements. Do I love music? No, not really. Most of the time, my house is quiet, and I am by no means a music aficionado. I just don’t have the internal oomph to be successful with music.

My primary occupation for the past ten years has been business. I like helping people make money, and freeing them to pursue their chosen profession—the thing about which they’re passionate. But … you guessed it! I’m not exactly passionate about that, either.

I can wax enthusiastic about exercise and fitness, but not enough to become a personal trainer or even to remain permanently fit myself. I find myself slipping in and out of fitness. I have cleaned houses and am a tidy person, but am not enthusiastic enough to make it a profession. If you get me started on emotions and thinking habits, I can get on my soap box big time, but I’m not interested enough, to the exclusion of enough other things, to become a psychologist or professional counselor. For years, whenever I’ve considered any of this, I’ve seen it as a problem. My lack of single-minded passion appeared to be a bar to success for me, and I felt defeated. For all those years, I failed to consider the single most important factor in life.

If I am passionate about God Himself, He makes me successful in everything else.

When God gives me another glimpse of His character, I become passionate, I can assure you. My passion is to express and you might even say reveal to others what I have seen. It is at that point that I can draw on all those other things in my life. There are some things I have seen that demand expression by means of a novel: absolutely nothing else could fully and properly explain what I’ve seen. Others must be sung, and others must be demonstrated in business. Some things need one-on-one conversation with individuals who have experienced just the right sort of emotional trauma.

I’m no longer concerned about being or not being a great (or perfect) singer, songwriter, novelist, or business-woman. I’m no longer worried that I cannot be in hot pursuit of success in any one area. I’m in hot pursuit of God, and He will give me the success I need to reveal His character.

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