The Lioness is the queen of the jungle, bold, fierce, and an aggressive defender of those she loves.

She is my spirit animal.

I feel that lioness spirit arising in this season.  The spirit of the lioness has always been there, and she’s never left. In the last ten years, I’ve gone through a time of testing and maturation that has helped me understand how to navigate through life.

I once received a word from a Nigerian prophet, who said, “You are like a bull in a China shop, and that has gotten you into trouble.” I laughed through my tears, and later my sister said that is the most accurate description of you that I have ever heard.

Through this time of testing and maturation, I’ve learned I don’t have to be the bull in the China shop. I don’t have to rush ahead and take hold of what’s mine by force. I don’t have to be aggressive, demanding, or performative. I just need to be able to receive it, but once I get it, I don’t let it go.

I defend and protect what’s mine.

Emphasis on Relationships

I read an article that said that people spend 1000 fewer hours per year with their friends than they did 20 years ago.

I’ve been thinking a lot about friendships and relationships lately because my real friendships are coming back into my life.  I think phones play a big role in why we spend less time with our friends these days: there’s so much entertainment in the palm of our hands that we don’t want the inconvenience of getting up and going to meet people when we can just stay home.

I also think another reason people aren’t spending as much time together is convenience. We’ve settled for relationships of convenience and proximity, and we aren’t compelled to invest emotionally or even practically in those types of relationships. Too many options compete for our time, so once the convenience goes away in a friendship, people drift away.

Didn’t we always prioritize convenience and proximity in relationships? That’s how most of us met our best friends in school and work. We became friends with whoever was around, but I would argue that a lot of the time we connected with those people beyond a surface level. Our friendships went deeper than the situations we found ourselves in.

In my day-to-day life, I don’t find many people that I relate to and connect with on a deeper level, and I’ve come to realize that’s fine. I don’t have the capacity or emotional bandwidth to pretend to have a friendship due to convenience. I would rather talk on the phone for two hours to a real friend who lives in another state than waste time at a dinner with people I’m not interested in beyond a surface level. I am not saying we should never have situational, surface-level relationships, because that’s part of life, but those aren’t the relationships that will sustain us, nourish us, and keep us grounded.

During this Fall Acceleration, I will be intentional about my relationships. That is where my heart is, and the stakes are high for me because in this era of my life, I will need my starters to help keep me grounded. I also need to be open and vulnerable enough to connect more deeply with others.

I heard a wonderful quote from yoga teacher Rebecca Rogers

“We’re all walking each other home”

Our culture has become increasingly selfish and self-centered over the last decade, and we’ve lost the sense of community. Relationships are not one-sided. It takes two people giving themselves to make it work, and this season I don’t want to walk alone.