Hey! Before you read this, you should read part 1 of this post! Which has exactly the same title as this post…but it’s called part 1. And if you did that and need a little refresher, let’s jog your memory. I played Glinda in eighth grade in the Wizard of Oz. A few days ago I convinced myself I was the cowardly lion. Then I painted a picture, and it turned out not so cowardly, and now I just don’t know.
Continuing on…
My full name is Leandra. Before today, I thought it was nice, but I liked Leah. Then yesterday, I painted that lion, not really connecting it to my life besides the whole “cowardly lion” thing. And my roommate (bless you, sneaky Melanie!) takes one look at it and goes “Hey, doesn’t your name mean like a lion?”
That’s real life. My name, Leandra, means like a lion. Say WHAT?! Do you see the word cowardly anywhere in there? Yeah, me either. Thanks, Mom and Dad. That’s a good thing.
So I had that realization yesterday. I started journaling about it this morning, and thinking about other lions. Like Aslan (Narnia, anyone?). And here’s what I journaled:
“Well, what kind of lion am I? The cowardly lion is the exception, NOT the rule. Lions are like Aslan. They’re strong. Confident. Protective. Courageous. They’re powerful. They’re almost larger than life. Lions are beautiful. And me? I am a lion. Man, there is honestly no other animal I would like to be compared to.”
But that’s not the end of it. While God took the opportunity to speak that truth into my life, there was more to come. In chapel at my school today, Tim Tebow’s older brother came to speak to us (which was pretty cool, and honestly the only reason I actually went today). And he starts talking about how we used to be sinners, but now we are whole and beautiful in the face of Christ. That we need to stop acting like lame little sinners, which we were, and claim the fact that now that we have Jesus, we’re loaded with grace and everything beautiful.
And as he was talking, he said this: “We need to take the name that Jesus has given to us.”
Oh fine. So all of a sudden, I felt the extreme urge to look up what the name Leah means.
(Side note: My favorite joke when people would tell me my name was in the Bible was to shock them and say “yeah, I’m the ugly one!” Which if you know the story of Leah and Rachel is pretty true, but it’s a bad joke. This applies to the story, I swear).
In Hebrew, Leah means “weary, tired.” I AM NOT WEARY OR TIRED. Well, maybe as a college student, yes. But that is not me! I am not the ugly one, and I am not tired. And just like that, the puzzle pieces came together.
So in these few revelations, here’s what I’m learning:
1. I am a lion. Strong and courageous.
2. I am not the ugly one, and I am not weary. I need to stop thinking those (even subconciously), and take claim of the real name I have been given.
3. Sometimes God takes multiple angles to remind us of the same truth until we get it.
So there you have it. It’s a long story, but you made it. And why does it matter? Well, mostly I needed to write it down to process it. But I also read this quote on a fellow World Racers blog today:
“When we expose ourselves and are completely vulnerable, we lose control but gain joy and freedom.”
So here I am. Losing control. Telling everyone about how I’m a lion. But through it, I’m gaining joy and freedom, and remembering who I am in Christ.
And Katy Perry? Well, she wrote this song called Roar. And that’s all that plays in my head when I think of lions. There you have it.
XOXO leandra
