Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

During these 40 days of Lent, the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter, our church is exploring the theme of wilderness. Have you ever been in an actual wilderness? Prevailing wisdom would say that you would do well to have a healthy fear of the realities of wilderness. In other words, be prepared for what might come your way. Be knowledgeable of the dangers and take what steps are necessary to prevent the danger from taking your life.
When I did my 5 day Vision Fast in the wilderness by myself, I spent weeks preparing thoroughly for what might present challenges. I had rehearsed what to do in various situations and I brought along mosquito netting, jungle juice, a hatchet, a flashlight, a whistle and various and asundry other tools to assist me. The first night out as I laid in my sleeping bag on top of my tarp, I was wearing a baseball cap with the mosquito netting over it because the bugs were out in swarms. I had a difficult time getting to sleep because I was afraid of the wild animals that might visit me in the night. Mountain lions, wolves, bears, lions, tigers and who knew what other murderous animals might spring out of the dark? It didn’t help that when I laid down on my tarp I could hear constant scratching sounds under the tarp. My imagination was amped up and I could feel myself spinning into a world of fear. Somehow I ended up falling asleep and after what seemed like hours, something woke me up. I opened my eyes and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Perched on the top of my baseball cap with it’s head bent over looking into my face was a mouse! Of all of the animals in the wild wilderness that I had prepared for, this was not one of them. It took me a minute to register what I was seeing and when all of my brain synapses finally talked to each other, I reached my hand up and knocked the mouse off of my cap. It scurried away and I got up and out of my sleeping bag and began to pace.
Isn’t it true that what we fear is often so much bigger than what actually shows up in our lives? We think lions and tigers and bears and instead a cute little mouse shows up and looks at us with curious eyes. After a day or two in the wilderness, I was able to see the humor in what happened the first night. Seeing a mouse eyeball to eyeball was the perfect thing to dissuage my fear and remind to trust. I hope your fear of lions is transformed into a beautiful moment with a mouse.