Earlier this month my husband took our youngest daughter, Malea, to Tennessee to do research for her state project, and to visit family. They had an amazing trip, and made so many memories, but unfortunately upon their return we noticed that my daughter’s favorite little stuffed lion, Leo, was missing. He completely vanished. Countless calls to the hotel, every airport, the TSA, etc. and no Leo.
As you can imagine, her heart was broken, and so was mine. The day after we found he was missing I was talking to her and told her we just needed to continue to pray and ask God for a miracle. Her response to that broke my heart even more. She said, “I believe God does miracles, I just don’t believe He wants to do them for me.”
As hard as that was to hear, I can understand why she feels that way. In just under 6 months her beloved kitten died (you can read about that here), she lost her iPod that had countless pictures and videos of the kitten, and now Leo has vanished. She has experienced a lot of heartache in such a short amount of time, so even though I know it’s not true, I can understand why she feels the way she does.
Two nights after Leo went missing she had a dream that I want to share with you.
In the dream she was at her teacher’s house and a few of her friends were there, on a mission to kill alligators. The alligators were under the floor, which was made of ice and they kept popping up through the ice trying to get her. She said a couple of times they got really close but she was able to go around a wall and get into another room. Her friends had bow and arrows that they were trying to shoot the alligators with, but she didn’t have one. Finally one of her friends ended up giving her one. At the same time she was dealing with the alligators, she remembered that her daddy was at the airport waiting for her. She knew she needed to get to him so they could leave and get away from the alligators. She kept asking everyone if they knew how to get to the airport but no one could tell her. She was finally able to get out of the house but the alligators were still coming after her, however she knew she had to get to her daddy at the airport.
What the Lord showed me through her dream is something I believe is so important for all of us to know. The alligators in her dream represent the enemy trying to attack her. Her friends are the Holy Spirit, which is why they had bows and arrows and were trying to kill the alligators. The Holy Spirit also ended up giving her a bow and arrow but never left her.
Daddy waiting for her at the airport represents the Lord waiting for her. The airport symbolizes a place of waiting, preparation, which means the Lord is waiting for her and preparing a place, so He can take her to her destination. I love that in the dream she knew she had to get to her daddy at the airport and even though the alligators kept attacking, she didn’t back down.
God showed me that the loss of her kitten, the loss of her iPod and now the loss of Leo are alligators in her life. They are the things that happen to make her lose her focus, to attempt to make her lose hope in the Lord – to believe that miracles don’t happen for her. But God is waiting for her, He is preparing a place for her, He has a plan, she just has to stay strong, be guided by the Holy Spirit and not lose sight of what He’s planning for her.
But the thing is, this dream was for Malea, but I feel like it’s true for all of us. We all have alligators in our lives, trying to keep us from what God has for us. God has a destination, a plan, a dream for all of us but the enemy is going to do everything he can do to keep us from getting there.
How are you going to deal with the alligators in your life? Are you going to let them take over, are you going to be consumed by the heartache and sadness they bring, or are you going to keep fighting to get to what the Lord has for you?
I love the words from Jenn Johnson’s song, You’re Gonna be OK, I feel like they should be Malea, and all of our fight song –
I know your heart is heavy from those nights
Just remember that you’re a fighter, a fighter
You never know just what tomorrow holds
And you’re stronger than you know.Just take, one step, closer
Put one foot in front of the other
You’ll, get through this
Just follow the light in the darkness.”
“You’re stronger than you know.”
It’s true, you are stronger than you know, not on your own, but with the strength of the Lord you will get through the hard things, the alligators in your life.
Praise be to the Lord,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.The Lord is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.” Psalm 26:6-8 (NIV)
Even in those times when it feels like God does miracles for everyone but you, go to the Truth, “the Lord is my strength and my shield.” He is fighting for you, whether it feels like it or not. Don’t let the enemy take you out, stay the course and fight to get to your destination with the Lord.
I love that she knows her father is waiting for her and that is her destination, the focus. I so often give into the distractions that pop up and steal my joy and attention. Thanks for the song! I love it!
This is all so true. We let “things (alligators) take our faith away. Satan doesn’t want to see us survive. He wants us to be down because then we cannot praise God and share Him with others. I was hoping you were going to say that Malea’s stuffed lion showed up, and God answered her prayers. But she had a dream where she knew she needed to be with her father and ran through all her fears to get to him. How awesome! She can smile knowing God is always there loving us, supporting us, carrying us when times are sad. I pray that she will always remember that,
because life has a way of disappointing us & this lets us know how important it is to have God in our life.
So true. I wish I could say Leo showed up at our house, but he hasn’t. I’m still praying he will, but I have a feeling he’s gone. 🙁 I know, just like all of us, Malea will face much heartache in her life, but I hope she is able to overcome the alligators to get to her Father, just as you have. You are truly an inspiration, thank you for sharing your heart in your comments. (heart <3)