What is Your Cause or Passion?

Unless you have no access to the internet or have been living in the wilderness the past month, you have seen the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Friends of ALS fighter Pete Frates really got everything going and it has brought in millions of dollars for ALS research.

September is Ovarian Cancer and Childhood Cancer Awareness month.  Those who have fought or are fighting find pride in this month not because they are suffering, but because they feel like they can bring some attention and awareness to the disease they have dealt with.  The hope is that people might listen a little more closely, especially as far as the symptoms are concerned.  But even more than that during this month people feel like their voice might be heard and some more connections can be made.

I know there are many causes out there that people talk about, donate to and deal with.  Some get more attention than others, which is why every cause tries to find that hook, that angle, that way to bring more attention to their cause.  Breast cancer benefited from Susan G. Komen and the 3 Day Walk.  ALS has benefited from the Ice Bucket Challenge.  Who knows what will be next.

Because today is Wear Teal Day, it would be very easy for me to blog about everything dealing with ovarian cancer - symptoms, how to help, where to donate.  Yet while this is important to me, it's not my most important cause, and I'm here to tell you that whatever cause you support it shouldn't be your most important one either.

Long before any of us were born or even thought of, there was a cause, a disease, that infected everyone.  Everyone was infected with it, and everyone would continue to infect the world.  There would be nothing to stop it.  It wasn't the black plague, the ebola virus or AIDS.  It was sin.  Nothing could stop it.  Nothing could take away it's effects, especially the effect of death.  Yet this cause was taken up the minute it started. God took up this cause and showed us there would be a cure.

God was speaking to the devil and told him that there was no way he was going to win the war.  The devil might win a few battles here and there, but sin was not going to take away eternal life from those who believed in Him.  He promised this when there were only two people in the world.  He kept His promise. He sent His Son, Jesus, as our substitute to live a perfect life, die on the cross and rise from the dead.  The cause that none of us could cure was cured, and will always be cured.  We are going to Heaven because of that.  What an amazing blessing!!

 Anyone who has been cured of any disease, or anyone who has lost someone to a disease knows that it's not easy to just sit by and do nothing.  There is always this need to do something.   So now that our biggest cause is taken care of, what do we do? 

Here is what we do:

We tell others about how we are forgiven.  We show them through our actions that God loved us more than we can imagine, so we want to show them a little taste of God's love.  And yes, we even give our money so this amazing news that our biggest cause is taken care of can be shared everywhere we can't go.  Everyone needs to know that we are forgiven, not just for a few of our sins, but for every single one of them.  This is our biggest cause.

Yesterday a friend/ family member wrote on Facebook asking people to support us on Wear Teal Day.  She said something so beautiful, it had to be shared.

As I sit watching two football teams battle & their fans putting energy & money into their passion, I sit here thinking of a dear friend/family member and her family who have been battling ovarian cancer for what seems like forever. But I also remember that our Savior has already battled for her, for her family, for us.

 No matter what we are fighting or dealing with, we don't have to worry.  Our biggest problem needs nothing from us because it's already taken care of.  Now we can let others know what is really important -- they are forgiven.  There is no greater cause than that.