Daniel and the Lion's Den

If you know me, you probably know my religious background - Catholic. This included Catholic grade school (K-8), Catholic high school, and if I had been given the chance from my parents, probably a Catholic college as well (I am glad I ended up at OU though - GO BOBCATS!!!). I know most every Bible story, and I can follow Catholic Mass procedures to a tee (kneel, sit, stand, kneel, stand, sign of the cross, shake hands, get in line for Communion, kneel, sit...you get the gist...). I like my religion. Sure, the Masses are long and a little traditional, but I am thankful that I had a religious background growing up. God has always been an important part of my life, and I know that the values I learned from my Catholic upbringing have helped shape the person I am today.

That being said, my only complaint is that I don't always "get something out" of the Catholic Mass. I was always taught that Mass is not meant for US to get anything out of it. It is a time to devote to God and worship Him; it is about Him, and not about us. I get that, but sometimes I do want to walk away with some "real life" advice from Church. So, I decided to get a little adventurous and check out a new type of "Church." I had heard about Crossroads from a very good friend of mine, and she had always invited me to join her to check it out. I always turned her offers down because I knew it wasn't what I was used to, and I wouldn't feel like I was at Church at all. However, after hearing about more and more people going and some of the "lessons" that were taught there, I finally jumped on the chance to check it out with my friend and her fiance. I am so glad I ventured out and tried something different!

Picture this - Super Bowl Sunday. This "Church" (or whatever it is!) is passing out free popcorn, hot dogs, pop, coffee, etc. to enjoy DURING the service! (This is after I passed people tailgating in the parking lot - cornhole included!) They had the "Super Bowl of Preaching," funny commercials, and even a local high school band perform for "half time!" It was hilarious and very, very cool. With all of the spectacles, I wondered, "Will I get anything from God out of this?!"

The answer was "yes!" One person started talking about the Bible story Daniel and the Lion's Den. I knew this story well (go Catholic education!). However, I never had a personal connection with it. This person went on to share a story about a time in his personal life when God had put him in the "lion's den" and he was left to trust in God's plan. We were asked to close our eyes and think about one thing that is our "lion," that we hold onto. He said that often times our lion is our plan - the dreams we make about what our lives should be. I immediately had a connection with this. I am a planner - I have always mapped out my life according to what I want to be doing at each age, and get very frustrated when things don't go according to my plans. Therefore, while we were sitting there, picturing our "lion" and giving control up to God, I found myself crying. Here I was sitting in a new environment, with complete strangers, and I had tears streaming down my face. It was scary to let go of "my plans," and instead trust in God's plan for me. But I came to realize that God is looking out for me, and has plans for me far more perfect than the ones I have for myself. I left Crossroads feeling better than I had when I entered, and I did feel like I had "gotten something" out of the service (I will not call it "Mass," because it really didn't seem like a Mass!). I felt a little guilty. I felt like the service had been about me (at least a little). But in all honesty, I do think it was about God. It was about God speaking words to me that I really, really needed to hear at the time; it was about His words touching me so much that I was brought to tears.

So I am officially letting go of "my plans" and putting my trust in Him. If God could protect Daniel from the lion just because Daniel had trusted in Him, surely God will protect me and make everything turn out okay if I simply put my trust in Him.

My challenge for you is to do just what I had done:
Close your eyes (after reading this, of course!). Picture yourself in a lion's den. What lion are you battling? What are you worried about that you should give up to God? Try to trust fully in His plan for you, and feel the huge load lifted from your shoulders. If you feel comfortable sharing, please post a comment and let me know if this has helped you in any way! I share my personal experience in hopes that it can touch someone out there in the same way that I was touched.

I am grateful for...
1.) Talking with my "teacher friends" after school, even though I had a lot of work that needed to be done! Haha.
2.) Alone time.
3.) Going "outside the box" and trying something I never thought I would.