I grew up in church.  My father and grandfather were both ministers.  I spent some time running from God in my 20s, but I was always His.  From an early age I remember words from the Bible that my mom would quote and my dad would preach.  They are written in I Peter 5, and I’ll quote the phrase in context because the verses right before and after are so wise:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

This is what I thought of when I heard about lions in the Bible.  Basically, the devil is a lion.  That and I thought of the children’s Bible story of Daniel and the Lions Den. 

But recently I heard two songs on the radio using lion imagery.  Really different takes on the picture of lions and faith.  They made me think a lot about lions.  And the Bible.  So I did some investigating.  Did you know that there are 119 references to lion(s) in the Bible?  There’s SO much to unpack in this study I’m doing on lions that I could write about it for two weeks.  But since you’re probably less enchanted with lions than I am, I’m just writing about it for two days. 

So today I’m looking at this idea of lions as a picture of struggles we have that are unseen.  This is a little esoteric, but I believe that there is good and evil in this world.  I believe that the good is from God and the bad is from another supernatural force that I call the devil.  I also believe that good wins the war, but sometimes bad wins the battle.  I don’t understand a lot of what happens in this world, so that’s my very simplistic explanation.  It’s a battlefield that I can’t completely understand or see and sometimes bad takes the battle.  My hope and my faith allow me to press on because I don’t believe that’s the end of it.  The war is not over.

I’ve seen that in my own life.  I have seen the bad and lost battles – both my own personal battles and battles of those closely connected to my life.  I do believe that the force for bad in the world seizes on the bad things that you do or the hard stuff you experience and tries to derail your whole life because of it.  Heck, I’ve seen that trick work.  I watched my parents go through an ugly divorce, I experienced having no material possessions, I struggled with an eating disorder, I sought validation from guys who had no idea how to value (or validate) a woman, I over-did everything from drinking to spending.  It could have derailed me permanently.  Those stronger than I am have fought, and lost, similar battles.  But this passage on lions gives me comfort.  The supernatural evil MAY BE prowling around like a lion seeking to devour, BUT (don’t you love that there’s a but there) you do not let him.  Resist.  Stand on your faith.  Know you are not alone.  Others around the world are fighting too.  Sigh: “the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”  You do suffer first.  A little while.  But you will be restored.  Made strong.  Firm. Steadfast. 

I leave you with the song that takes a look at God closing the mouth of that lion (by Mercy Me):

I’ve been the one held down in chains
Beneath the weight of all my shame
I’ve been the one to believe
That where I am You cannot reach

You’re the one who conquers giants
You’re the one who calls out kings
You shut the mouths of lions
You tell the dead to breathe
You’re the one who walks through fire
You take the orphan’s hand
You are the one Messiah
You are I am

I heard two hard stories yesterday.  This on a day when the City of Houston was mourning the most tragic loss it had experienced in its fire department – four firefighters lost and one more still in critical condition in the hospital.

One friend told me her high school friend was jumping on a trampoline with his kids when he fell on his head which paralyzed him from the neck down.  He’s our age.  Great shape, former Marine, just playing on a sunny afternoon with his daughter.  Just hours later, a dear friend of mine told me about her 16 year friend on the verge of losing her battle with cancer.  She fought until there was nothing left to fight.  Now she readies herself.  Again, a battle that should never be lost in one so young.

I do not know what they are going through.  I cannot understand what they are thinking.  I do not pretend to have the words.  But I was asked to pray.   And even asked to pray by one who isn’t sold on the whole faith proposition.

So, in lieu of having the right words for these monumental losses, for these unwarranted and unexplainable tragedies, can I share what I found in the Bible?  To use as I pray and to send to those facing this, for some, final battle:

Revelation 21:

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

John 14 (Jesus speaking):

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also….Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

I don’t know if you or someone dear to you is facing loss right now.  If so, can I tell you how sorry I am you are having to go through this season?  Death, divorce, illness, abandonment, abuse, poverty, or whatever shape or size it comes in.  I can not understand what you are going through, but I have a God who can.  A God who lost his very own son in the most cruel of ways.  He knows and will stand with you as you walk down this long road.  The always wise Ann Voskamp says, “It’s the quantum physics of God: one broken heart always breaks God’s in two.  We never cry alone.  And our crying God, He catches every tear in His bottle — God catches every falling tear because He’s keeping us from falling apart.”  You are not alone.  And if you need a physical person to stand with you in prayer, just send me a note and I will pray alongside you.

As I mentioned last month, I am hosting a guest writer once a month through the summer here at Gindi’s.  God connected me to Holley Gerth’s God-sized Dream Team in 2013.  Through this group, I have met fellow dreaming writers, several of whom I now consider friends.  Last month, you met Kristin and heard her adoption story.  Today I introduce you to Alecia who became a parent young but has soaked up a lot of wisdom in the years since and shares some here: 

When I became a parent at the age of 21, I had no idea what I was doing.  For the first couple of years everything was trial and error, fall and get back up again.  But I’ve always strived in my parenting to remember that they are kids and will make mistakes.  I also want them to personally know  Jesus.  I had spent my entire life going to church on Sundays, and believing He existed, but not knowing Him personally.  For my kids, I want it to be different.

The more I grow and evolve in my faith, the more I realize that I am the only Jesus example my kids will see for a long time.  Each time I show compassion when they make a mistake, or speak calmly instead of yelling, or show love when I want to strangle their little necks, they will see Jesus the most.  I desperately want to be a mom that they can count on when they are confused and troubled with life - a mom that thinks and prays before reacting or making decisions.

A great example of a grace moment is summer vacation. (Which is right around the corner.) The days run together, the calendar and routine is thrown out the window, and the first question out of each of their mouths when they wake up each morning is “What are we doing today, Mom?” and it never ends! These are the days I get to stretch my grace muscle the most.  They wake up fighting and go to bed fighting and in between want to be entertained.  I can either spend my days yelling and playing referee or make a decision to make the most of each day regardless of what we end up doing or what their attitudes happen to be.  When I remember that I set the tone, (and that I’m the boss) the day is much more enjoyable and we end up making fun memories and the urge to want to sell them on eBay is resisted another day. (I’m kidding, mostly.)  

On my own, I can be ugly and prideful and impatient and mean.  But because my life has been changed from the inside out, I can show the two most important people in my life faith, peace, love, kindness, self-control, joy, and hope; all the things that I am not on my own.  There are days the old me rears her ugly head, but then I catch a gentle whisper in my soul that tells me “not this way, remember what I have taught you.”  I hope when they open their Bibles and read the accounts of Jesus and how he lived and loved, that they will think of the way their Mama, lived and loved them and others.  That while she may not be perfect, she did her best to show grace when it was least deserved.

I spend many days in walking conversations with God, because I so desperately need His wisdom and discernment in raising my children.  So, the most important question I can ask myself each day is, “Do they see Jesus in me right now?”  If the answers is no, then I know what I should do.  With Him I am the mom I want to be, can be, and should be.

Alecia blogs over at There’s Something Different at www.aleciasimersky.com. She is a Southerner by birth (and grace) and gypsy by marriage (she’s moved 7 times in the last 12 years).  She writes to encourage Christians to live differently because she knows that once you’ve been changed by Christ you are different.  She claims “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength,” Phil 4:13, daily. You can connect with her on Twitter @AleciaSimersky and  http://www.facebook.com/ Theresomethingdifferent