This is a good topic, because I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about my true passions in life. I guess most people are that way, as we spend more of our time doing things and less time thinking and planning for the things we’re doing. I think I react to circumstances a lot, but if I was true to my passions, my daily activities might look a lot different.
Without question, my Christian faith is absolutely the most important thing in my life. When I became a Christian in 1984, the trajectory of my life permanently changed. Today, I strive to be more like Jesus each day as part of this continuous journey that I’m deeply committed to. My faith shapes my perspective and motivates me in everything I do.
My family is also an enormous part of my life. They are my rock, and they bring me immense joy. Twenty-seven years ago, the Lord blessed me with my daughter Lizzi, who is truly the joy of my life. She, in turn, brought more joy into the world in the form of my grandson Sully, who taught me that the love in my heart has infinite room for expansion. In 2015, I rediscovered true love when I married my wife, Daryl, who is simply irreplaceable in my heart and life. God has also blessed me with extended family, namely my best friend Scott, whose decades-long friendship speaks to the importance of enduring relationships in my life.
Finally, I’ve found that I’m passionate about using my skills to help others learn and grow. My life’s journey has taken me down a lot of roads and through a lot of career paths. Now, as I move into the sunset of my career, I’m seeing that all of those roads and paths have combined to give me an interesting perspective for teaching my middle- and high-school students. My students have benefited from waystations to help them gain insight in what they can do to improve in their learning process. Seeing my students grasp new concepts and develop their own voices is incredibly rewarding.
Copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt
I suspect most people don’t spend much time thinking about their passions these days (especially in America), because there are so many distractions. Seems like many people waste hours per day staring at their phone (which can be productive, but often it’s just social media or games). I’m not against phones or technology, but it’s sad to see people lose sight of enjoying life (or even noticing it) and not pursuing their passions. It’s like they become numb to life when their phone steals their attention and they become addicted.
Sorry if I ranted too much there… your post just got me to thinking about it. We all have passions that God gave us, which we should use to interact with the people around us.