Dragon Slayers

You cannot escape knowing of the things taking place in the world today. You turn on the television or the radio and it’s there. Any form of social media, it’s there. Covid, Afghanistan, hurricanes, floods, fires, the list goes on and on. It can be so easy to get wrapped up and feel hopeless, but what this world needs and what we need more of is God. I’m going to jump off subject for a second, but you’ll see that it’s really connected – stay with me, I promise it’s going to come together!

My son started second grade this year. His entire first grade year he would walk to the front of the school once I dropped him off and dance for all the other car riders. The staff plays music every morning, so he let loose and just danced his heart out. every. single. day. My husband and I, both on separate occasions unbeknownst to us, each asked him why. His answer was simple, but it melted our hearts. “To make people happy. To make them smile.” My son is much like I was as a child in that he loves to love on others. (I’d like to think that maybe I had a little to do with it, but we all know it’s God not me!) Back to this year, I’ve noticed that he isn’t dancing. It took a while for him to tell me why, but after finding out that another child wasn’t being nice to him, he told me that is why he stopped dancing. My heart cried out in my chest, but we had a conversation about how this child has something going on in his life to make him lash out — it’s not our son’s fault and he shouldn’t to let his light be snuffed. Afterwards I asked him if he was going to go back to dancing. He looked at me and said sadly, “I miss it, but I don’t want to make anyone mad.” When I say that hurt my heart, ya’ll I’ve never known that kind of pain before!

Days later my husband and I both spoke on the issue with him. At the end, he said he would think about dancing again, but then said that it only makes the adults happy. My husband made such a remarkable statement to that, “Most of the times it’s the adults that need it the most.” It floored me because, how right that is! As adults, so much of the time, we lose that light. We become so jaded and worry so much about what others are going to think of us. How dare someone – anyone – take that away from my child! A few days ago, on the way to school, I talked to my son about God being the light that shines through us to others. I explained to him how God is our HOPE. We talked about how some people, after this world gets ahold of them, sometimes they lose hope because they forget that or they run from God.  Quick sidenote – he knows about depression although he doesn’t know that’s what it’s called because my husband and I both suffer from mental health issues. He understands that sometimes people can get so sad for no real reason. Unfortunately, he too, deals with this a bit already. Thankfully, because my husband and I both fully understand, we have good cuddle time and talk when he comes to us and says he’s sad-sad and doesn’t know why. (Sad-sad is his way of saying super sad.) We continued our conversation and he promised he would seriously consider dancing again. I let him know that we don’t care what he decides about that, but that it broke our hearts that he was letting someone take his joy from him.

My seven year old is smarter than some adults – sometimes that adult is me! Now, hopefully this is when all of that above ties together. GOD IS OUR HOPE. PERIOT. When you turn on the news, radio or pull up social media on your phone and your heart is heavy, you need more of God. Turn to prayer, turn to his word. This is for me just as much as for anyone reading this. It’s time for His people to take a stand. It’s not about what other’s think of us. If we want our children to be true in Christ then it has to begin with us. We are living in a time where there is more evil lurking about than there has been in a very long time, who knows – maybe ever. We are in the days that were prophesized in biblical days past.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. -Matthew 24:7

The time has come to make a stand. The time has come to make a choice. Are you going to let the world steal your salvation or are you going to step up and stop being lukewarm? (This is a great article: 10 Signs of a Lukewarm Christian to read if you are unsure what being a lukewarm Christian means.)

Look, I struggle more than I like to admit, but as part of my journey to step up – I’ll admit it right here and now. I have an extremely hard time with rebellion, stubbornness and have brought so much useless hurt and pain into my life by thinking that I know what is good for me. I struggle with control issues. I struggle with being humble and peaceful and quiet, BUT I am SICK AND TIRED of it. Would you like to join me in this journey? Send me a message, a text or give me a call. I’m awkward as heck, but I will love you through it all. I’m not giving up on me anymore. God made me for a reason and a purpose and through Him I will learn exactly what that is. God will use our trails and our pains and bring us out stronger and closer to Him. I have such a long way to go, but I look at my child and know that if it’s what I want for HIM how much more does our Father Lord in heaven want that for us. Learn to be dragon slayers Christians for there are very real dragons in this world – in so doing, you will show your children to be slayers of those very dragons! (An article on Teaching Our Children to be Dragon slayers.) 

“Never feel sorry for raising dragon-slayers in a time when there are actual dragons.” – Unknown