I’ve stood on a battlefield, staring down a roaring lion, glimpsing the mountains in the background. I’ve stood in that moment and realized that there’s a fight to be had and a long trek ahead.
And that’s before I even opened my eyes to turn off the agitating alarm telling me to begin the day.
Life is a war, some say. Life is a trek, say others. Great adventure, brilliant moments, straight magic intermingled with darkest nights of despair, overwhelming fear, exhaustion from the journey.
We all fight lions, even if they’re only in our minds. We all climb mountains, even if there are no blisters to be shown for our efforts.
How is it that we can leave a period of rest and feel just as exhausted as when we entered it? We get through Monday by draining our coffee supply and wearing mascara that isn’t waterproof so we have to hold it together. We struggle and strive and weep and collapse…and then realize it’s only Tuesday.
When your Pinterest board tells you to HUSTLE and your social media feeds show cropped perfection, you look around and wonder what you got wrong. It seems that the lion gets closer and the mountains get taller every time you scroll further down your screen.
I can’t be the only one.
Life on its own is a desperate situation, and we may as well pat Darwin on the shoulder and commend him for explaining why the weakest ones don’t make it.
There were people who would have agreed with that sentiment; they were worshiping in a temple with a distinct absence of the Almighty, looking toward a victorious and conquering King while losing hope that he would ever come. They were a breathless people, hoping for what was unseen, unaware that they stood in the very turning point of history.
And then the violin solo in the background completed its crescendo and hit the high note.
When the Creator of the story steps into the plot, who could refuse to dare to hope? When eternal meets breakable and glory gains flesh, when hands that hold the world bleed for the people they shaped, when love like a hurricane crashes in, who could deny such an anchor for the soul?
Darwin can keep his dark world with him in the grave because he left out one very important factor: hope.
When your Savior has the oceans in his eyes, when you are adopted into a Kingdom that will never fade, the lions grow quieter and the mountains gain beauty. They don’t leave, no, but you can approach them with a sword in hand, a greater perspective, and someone who never leaves your side.
So let mascara trail down your cheeks and realize it’s okay to stop hustling and take a nap. Laugh with tears in your eyes at the beauty and ferocity and adventure that is kept and contained on this spinning planet. There will be lions to fight and mountains to climb, but when you have an anchor for your soul, even the struggle becomes sweet.
And our lips can form the words, “It is well.”
PC: Clipart Library
KELVEY OLIVIA VANDER HART 