by Manuela Mitchell
September 4, 2012 will have marked the 6 year memorial of a wildlife warrior legend. Steve Irwin, also known as the Crocodile Hunter, lived his life by teaching and sharing his love for animals and the environment. Beginning as a young boy, he studied the way of the wild, every day improving his abilities and knowledge to one day, creating animal acts and shows, that no man has ever had the ability to do. Some may have thought him to be crazy, putting himself, staff and even family at risk through his many films in the outback. Others supported his dreams, skills and family values. He only did what he believed was important to him, and perhaps the rest of the world. He had an uplifting personality, a passion for not only what he did, but for what he believed. He was very strong and had endurance and was not afraid of working hard or getting hurt. On one of Steve’s documentary films, his life unexpectantly ended when he was barbed in the chest by a sting ray. He lived his dream till the end and never gave up his zeal for life, the life that he believed was good and right.
As an animal lover, I too can relate to his passion; as I also try to pass it on to my son. While my goals are not quite the same as Steve’s, I would love my desire in what I believe, to be the same. I imagine, if I had his personality, his humility to learning new things, his caring attributes and his passion, I would be a completely different person. If I could express my passion towards God, the way that Steve expressed towards animals, would I get the same reaction? I find it hard to express my feelings at times and therefore appear that I’m not passionate. However, I know that if I could learn to express my love for God and His ways, then I might find myself in a more positive atmosphere. It is easy for me to sometimes feel depressed, but it takes God to truly feel passionate about anything. I feel blessed to know that I can ask God for anything, including being passionate for His Word, and maybe then, other things will fall into place.