Sunday, March 28, 2021

Riding a Lion

We cuddled together, blankets and fuzzy socks attesting to the struggle to stay warm in the cold of a Mafraq winter. Thanks to Pinterest, I could send someone’s beautiful lion painting to my husband as a little mid-day-courage-card with a few fitting words. My daughter and I gazed together through the screen to the majestic lion likeness, whose fearlessly stedfast expression was nearly mesmerizing. 


Joy watched quietly for a minute or two, inadvertently pinning my arm as I tried to type and send. Then with a sudden breath of longing she broke the silence: “Someday, I want to ride a lion.” 


Decisively, she gave a few concluding nods of her little head. I turned towards her with a grin of surprise and encouragement at this sudden unveiling of her secret wish.


“Oh yeah?” My racing thoughts of a tiny girl sitting on a wild, dangerous and fearless beast shifted as I continued gazing at the painting glowing up at us. The strength and fearlessness flashing in those eyes became those of the conquering Lion of Judah for whom we wait and long. I remembered that Isaiah truly saw ahead to a new day where lions will have a reign of peace beside lambs. Little lambs like mine.


“You want to ride a Lion, Sweetie?” I said softly. “Someday, I think you will.”


What are the secret desires whispering deep in your soul? If they cannot find their fulfillment here and now...take heart. A new era is coming! The Lion named Jesus will reign and He will make all things wonderfully new. 


In that day, so many dreams will be coming true.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Don't Lose Your Song!

It was rather conspicuous actually. I was sitting in a congregation and we were all singing together, “There is Coming A Day”. Suddenly, I found myself singing alone. The attention of everyone else was diverted to something happening in the back of the building and they all stopped mid-song. I was unfazed, continuing on in my lone soprano voice, “what a day, glorious day, that will be.” Everyone turned now to stare at me and chuckle. 


And then my little boy sleeping beside me jabbed into my side as he did a push up and turned to wake me. I realized that my song had only been a dream. 


But as I fed him, I pondered. Sometimes it seems that the whole world is losing their song. (Granted, that’s simply not true and the faithful sing on.) Sometimes we become corporately distracted and our songs of hope and expectation die away mid-chorus as we are caught up in the hullabaloo of what is happening around us. 


Sometimes I lose my song. I stop singing just because I can’t hear those around me singing on. Sometimes I lose focus of what the future really holds for the righteous. I fill up on the messages swirling around me of doom and gloom until there’s no room left for the true saga of indomitable hope. 


But what if people laugh at us because we still sing of The Day that is coming? What if they think we are the weird ones because they stopped singing and we carried on? What if our voices are lone and solitary in their song? What if we are the only ones singing when That Day is suddenly here in all its splendor?




Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.