In 2009, the theme of Graduation Sunday was lions. I tried hard to get a live lion to the service, but I could not make it happen. I was sad and frustrated. I decided the next best thing was to get a real lion that would not mind standing on stage for an hour. I settled on a taxidermy lion.
I finally found some at an auction in Fort Worth. I decided to attend and bid on a lion. I figured I would buy it and then resell it after the weekend. I was never in the running as the cost soared out of my price range. I made a plan B. I waited until the end of the auction and went up to meet the person that had outbid me. I offered to rent the lion for the weekend. I thought it was a great deal. They said, ‘No’ without any hesitation.
Then without skipping a beat, he said. “I will not rent it to you, but I will loan it to you if you help me move these animals to my restaurant in North Fort Worth.” He had bought two lions, a couple of antelope, a grizzly bear, and a polar bear. The next day I rented a moving truck, drove to the auction place, picked up the animals, and moved them to their new home. Then I brought the lions back to Athens. We hid them in the church. The restaurant owner went back on the deal and came to Athens to retrieve the lions. He had not paid attention to the date of our Graduation Sunday. I was able to negotiate to keep the female lion. It was a tense two weeks wondering if the lion would be allowed to be with us. She stayed. The top picture is Logan and I standing in front of her.
The following Monday, I drove the lion back to its home in Fort Worth. I have not seen her for 14 years. Last week on Graduation Adventure, we happened to be near the place. I went in to check on her. It was sad. Once, she stood on an African Savana, an antelope skull beneath her feet and danger in her eyes. Her front left foot carried the whole weight. The impression was that she was running at full speed. She looked powerful and terrifying.
Now, her paws splay awkwardly in mid-air (see the picture). Ugly cables suspend her in an unnatural way. Her eyes stare aimlessly at the ceiling. She even looked a bit embarrassed.
It takes a long time to see how things will turn out. We watch, we wait, we pray. Sometimes we end up on the savana and sometimes on the wall. The future is created by the choices we make today. Pray for our graduates that this will be a good launch. Pray that they will stay close to Christ. Pray that in a few years, they will be thriving and living in the middle of God's plan.