Watch out!

I took this picture while we were at the zoo this weekend and when we all got home and were looking through the pictures it stood out to me. It stood out for a couple of reasons the first being that I love lions. They are the king of the jungle and one of the most powerful, dangerous and fearless large cats in the world! It also stood out to me in a symbolic kind of way. Try to follow me here... I walked up to the pen and I saw that lion laying there in that empty basin, I know he's dangerous but I see him he's on my radar. Knowing that he's there and that he's dangerous gives me the advantage (well that and the giant wall separating us) I can keep an eye on him, if he gets too close for my comfort I can move away from him. The fact that I am aware of him and that he is very dangerous to me keeps my on point about staying safe when it comes to him. All that make sense? Now the symbolism, we all have things in our life that we struggle with, that are dangerous to us and our well being. It could be food, alcohol, drugs, porn, men or women who knows but those could be things that if we are not hyper sensitive to be careful around they could hurt us. As long as we know those things are around, they are on our radar we can take steps to avoid them. I have a couple (just a couple LOL) old vices that I have kicked the habit of for a long time, but if I'm not careful, if I turn my back on them they can sneak up and attack. Still following? Did I bring it all together there? Well it makes sense to me.

Now here's the other thing that stood out to me about this picture. I see the King of the Jungle laying there on the ground eyeballing me. I'm well aware of him and I wont let him hurt me. But what about that lioness up in the tree that I didn't even see until someone else pointed her out to me? She wasn't on my radar therefore I wasn't careful of her. I could have gotten too close and BAM I would have been in trouble. Here's where I'm going with this. There are things in our lives that could be dangerous to us that we don't even see until we walk under them and a giant lioness jumps on our head! What happened in this exchange for me though was another man who was standing there did see her, and he did warn me about her and then she was on my radar. I try very hard to align myself with men and women who "bring me up." Who are good for me if that makes sense. A good friend of mine once said, "if you're not bringing me up you're bringing me down." Having those people in your life is very necessary, they can keep an eye on you when your walking through life and if they see you getting too close to that lioness up in the tree they can grab you by the arm and say be careful friend you're walking into dangerous territory. Let me also say that I rely on God, heavy, to help keep me out of trouble. I ask him every morning to keep the hedge of protection around me high so that nothing can get to me today and I believe with all my heart that God has delivered me safely MANY times away from some trouble that I got myself, unknowingly, too close to. I also believe that our relationship with man is a very important one and that God places people in our lives to help us on this journey too. I have 4 accountability partners whom I have made a bond with and given my word to that on many different levels "I've got their back." And I know they've got mine too. So be deliberate about who you surround yourself with in life and remember, if you're not bringing me up you're bringing me down.