Soggy Lion

It's snowing. Again. On March 28. I just left a church activity called "Bloom Where You're Planted" and drove home in a whiteout.

This reminded of possibly the greatest thing Bonnie Dixon ever said: "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a soggy lion."

I remembered buying a little lion card for Archer after his baby blessing because Greg blessed him to be "bold as a lion". To make sure I didn't misplace the precious lion card I rummaged through his SAVE BOX. It was right where I left it. I love remembering Archer's birth; it was one of the happiest times in my life. It was also when I learned that putting an iPhone flashlight face down on a white Huggies wipes box makes a perfectly-wattaged lantern to nurse and change size 1 diapers to. 

Little lion card also reminded me of this story I saved for Archer's book:

While our family was in Argentina on assignment from the Church, our son and I often visited sites of interest in our free time. Among them was a zoo unlike any zoo we had seen before.

Rather than wander past cages of sleepy animals, visitors were invited to enter the pens and pet the animals. Following the trainer, we made our way into the enclosure prepared for the large lions and petted them while they seemed to ignore us.

I asked the trainers how they had convinced those giant beasts to not eat us. They called my attention to several little dogs that likewise inhabited the pens. When the lions were small, those yappy dogs chased the lions mercilessly and nipped at their heels. The lion cubs became accustomed to cowering in the corner, afraid of the dogs.

When the lions grew, they continued to cower in fear. With the flick of a paw, they could easily have sent those dogs flying, but the lions didn’t see themselves as they really were. They were unaware of their regal identity and potential.

We have God’s spiritual DNA coursing through our veins. We are His sons and daughters and His heirs. Swat away any deceiving messages, beliefs, or habits that cause you to cower in the corners of your life. Don’t let them nip at your heels and make you feel fearful or hurt. Rise to the level of your eternal stature. You are royalty. (Clayton 2016)

Isn't it sad that it's a dog-eat-lion world sometimes? My oldest often feels like a soggy lion and needs constant reminders of her royalty. Greg and I are bewildered as to why she can't see the obvious (her worth) but we've come to the conclusion that Satan is relentless. Fortunately, I'm a mama bear hidden inside a scraggly, knock-kneed lion and Greg is basically Mufasa with pouncing quads and perfect teeth and RELENTLESS is our middle name. We can try harder. We can be intentionaler (made that word up) parents. We must get more daily messages to her than the yapping dog does.

Parenting, prompts, prayers. What else can we do? Cue the village! There is power in people who send good, true, and happy messages to kids who aren't their own. We parents need all the help we can get.

Lion card from Harmony boutique in Provo

Photo quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, November 1986, 53. (Do I quote anyone else?) 

Lion article by Kathy Kipp Clayton, "You are Royalty," Ensign, August 2016, 23.