One of the deepest and strongest, and most often suppressed, desires of my heart is to be a part of something bigger than myself. I want believe in and value a cause, an ideal, so completely and so abandonedly that I would sacrifice everything I am and everything I own to fight to keep it alive. I want be a part of a group effort of goodness and purity and justice to save that which is right, to fight against that which is evil, even if the fight is hopeless. Even if I know it's hopeless.

I don't know where this yearning stems from. Maybe it began when I was a little girl from all of the books that I read. Fantasy, mostly. Maybe it comes from my Lord who created me and placed in me the desires that I have. Regardless, epic tales of good versus evil in which good prevails in a heated and hopeless battle have always appealed to me, have always cried to my heart, have always sung to my soul.

In Avatar, an ex-marine becomes a part of a people that he comes to love more than his own life. When those people are faced with an enemy infinitely stronger than themselves, this man forfeits himself to save them.

In the epic tale of The Lord of the Rings, a common hobbit is asked to go on a quest to destroy the one thing the Dark Lord needs to gain complete control over the earth. He sacrifices his sanity, his health, and his safety to save the people of his world.

And yes, even in Harry Potter, a young teenage boy fights the most evil person in the world in order that the world around him would not fall subject to Lord Voldemort.

These tales are throughout the Bible: Moses, Rahab, David, Jeremiah, Daniel, Elijah, Mary, John, Stephen, Paul. How did they do it? Did they know at that time that they were a part of something bigger and better, more important and more eternal than themselves? Did they know the ultimate end or were they just living a normal life and being passionate in the moment?

Most of the time I forget that my life should be so much more than what car I drive, what I'm going to eat for supper, when I'm going to work out, what I'm going to wear the next day, how much money I'm going to get in my next paycheck, what I'm going to do on the weekend, what my house looks like, what my makeup looks like, what kind of possessions I own, etc., etc., etc., It all seems so meaningless when put up against those who died or lived for a purpose of greater meaning than themselves. I want that. I want to do that. I want to be like that. I want that passion. I want that conviction. I want that drive that propels me to fight the battle and stand the ground no matter what. Lord, give me that cause. Fan my fire. Let me fight for something. God please let me fight for and be a part of something bigger than myself.

Michael and I watched the move Avatar tonight, and I guess that's what spurred on my thinking, but honestly, if you have not watched this movie; no, if you have not seen this movie, understood it, felt it, then you desperately need to. Who would have thought that the now record-breaking #1 movie of all time would have the principles, passions, and ideas that appeal to my heart woven throughout the storyline.