The lion came. It's been a long winter. The cold was nearly unbearable. I felt like I almost died a few times from it. It's not that there weren't moments where the weather let up, where I felt a bit of warmth and hope for springtime and a better tomorrow, but the bitter cold kept returning worse and worse than before. How long can one endure a never-ending winter? Not forever, right? A lamb could not survive forever, especially alone...
I felt as though I'd been tossed to the wolves. Ravages out there. "Never enough" they'd tear me down with. "Not good enough" the message persisted. "You need to do..." the list never ended. It spun me round and pulled me down til I didn't know if I could ever get back up again. Several feet of snow enclosed me, and the wolves shoved me downward til the snow and ice nearly suffocated like quicksand. The wolves kept on coming, devouring, leaving me with nothing but scraps and ashes, or so it seemed.
But down in the bitter depths of winter, where hopelessness enveloped the cruel, dark world so there seemed to be no escape, suddenly a light emerged. Not at first as I'd hoped, but in it's proper time, for winter will not truly last forever. There is a season for everything, including the end of a prior one. The candle flickered dimly in the distance. No, not a candle, that's sunlight! Sun peeking through the blizzarding air and wind, knocking the cruelty out for but a moment, raising the temperature slowly to a warmer one, where frostbite is not so deadly a concern.
That light was a breaking point, just as the dawn broke away the darkness of the cold and bitter season. You'd think seasons would change slowly, but no, it happened nearly in an instant. From one persistent monstrosity to a serene awakening as the snow melted, light shuttered about like fairies in the mist, and even the wolves could not help but pause in respect of the beauty of such a moment. For in the midst of that light, there was not only the sun.
A lion emerged from the distance, stepping forward... no, leaping through the light waves and racing across the horizon towards the wolves! And towards me! Wolves fled in fear, for they could not withstand such a mighty beast. Nor could I, but the lion was not after me with malintent. Amongst roars and claws tearing to and fro, the wolves never stood a chance. Then the lion came to where I'd been trapped moments before, and with a calm, whisper-like purr almost, as you might hear from a sturdy kitten, his breath blew powerfully against my face as he warmed me from the winter and saved me from demise. He'd claimed me as his kin, to protect and guard all the rest of my life, for a lamb cannot survive against wolves alone. In a promise of protection and care, out of unending love, "You are mine, and that is enough," he whispered into the depths of my soul. I had nothing to fear with the lion by my side, and he promised not to leave me alone again.
Not quite the same as my usual ponderings, but I hope you enjoyed the read. The lion won't ever abandon the lamb he's sworn to protect, and the wolves can't win against the lion.
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