β€Ž”When I got into hunting porcupines, I knew everything there was to know about porcupines. I was passionate.” – Tom from the campground chapel service

We set up camp at Thousand Trails Verde Valley  last night.  Will we ever get in before dark?  While we were driving around blindly looking for a space, I spotted a group of javelinas. Meow Cow must have spotted them too because he got all funky on us, hissing and growling.  That ferocious feline.

It was a cloudy wet morning. After a lingering breakfast, went to the campground chapel service which was really more of a “Bible study”.  Travelers of all ages and walks, sharing their opinion on God and the Bible. The topic was “passion vs. duty”.  Tom was my favorite.  He told of of his passion for porcupine hunting and searching for gold.  How he threw himself into researching and pursuing his hobbies with commitment and passion.  His wish was to pursue God with the same passion.  While clearly simplistic and odd, there was something sweet and touching about his honesty.

Personally, I don’t see passion and duty as mutually exclusive nor do I see one as better than the other.  (Although passion is most certainly more fun.)  They work together.  Duty picks up when passion falters.   I experience this again and again.   Take fitness, for example.  Sometimes I workout because I crave the feeling of strength found through the cold iron of kettlebells, sweat, and time alone for my mind to wander.  Other times, I do it because it’s what I do, like flossing my teeth.  The same goes for marriage, parenting, writing, and my faith.  I try to cultivate and feed passion but try not to shun duty.  Mostly though, I try not to over think it too much because that makes me crazy and I have enough of that for 5 people already.

Anyway, I sat quietly the entire chapel taking it in and stumbling over the hymns.  I didn’t grow up singing hymns.

After two days of driving, we decided to rest the remainder of the day.  The boys met another fulltime RVing family and played with those kids the rest of the day.

I sat at the window and watched the desert landscape.  I’m a little sad and worried.  After the broken refrigerator and new tires, I’m starting to wonder if we should have saved up like we intended before we left.  Certainly, that would have been the dutiful thing to do.  However, passion took over and we took off, trusting that God will provide.  Clearly, I’m as simplistic as Tom.  Maybe, I should take up porcupine hunting.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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