Life has a way of breaking us all. Often we feel like we have been thrown to the wolves and have to fight for our place in this world and possibly for our very existence. Every day, whether animal or human, we all get up and do what we must to survive. This is all part of the circle we call “Life.” Will you lead or will you follow? Will you stand or will you fall? Will you live or will you die? It really starts with you. What you think is what you become. What you believe becomes your reality. So when you are thrown to the wolves, I suggest you find your pack.
I believe it’s not just about finding yourself like a missing puzzle piece that was lost, but it’s also about finding how you fit into the bigger picture. It’s about finding your pack because that pack is not only part of your protection, it’s also vital to your survival. Now in reality, we all have survival skills. They are pretty much instilled within us from birth. We have the fight-or-flight response which kicks in to sustain us and shows us what we are truly made of. Are we born a leader or a follower? Or do we learn by following and we become a great leader?
It’s true. We learn through trial and error as we test our strengths and our weaknesses. Will we rise up to greatness or we back down because of weakness? Though we all have insecurities we all have the ability to lead or find our place in the pack. Though some may never be leaders, everyone can be a part of the pack.
However being part of that pack means there’s going to be battles and with those battles comes wounds. Yet we learn from pain and we learn from the challenge.
I believe we all have old wounds that we carry within us, those wounds serve as reminders that we at some point have fought for what we thought mattered. Though some wounds are deep and may never heal in this lifetime, maybe they serve a purpose to remind us to keep fighting and wrestle for the truth even if it hurts. Maybe wounds remind us to always carry compassion within us for the underdog. Maybe God makes us wrestle with truth and walk with a limp so we will remember that the battle is not ours but it is the Lord’s.
It is true that we may not have the power over every circumstance and what battles we have to face and fight, but we have the power over our own mind to get up, keep fighting and keep moving forward. I still believe there is some good in this world (not much) but it’s worth fighting for. So I won’t pray for an easy life. Instead I’ll pray for strength to endure this difficult one and the wisdom to teach my pack to fight and do the same.
With every flex of power, every muscle in our bodies exercises our virtues to preserve them. When we stand firm and united as a pack then we can take on whatever challenges are before us. Though we know only the strongest will survive, we are the survivors.
Yet being a strong pack leader makes you recognize your own weaknesses and that you need the strength of the pack and the pack needs your strengths as well.
A strong pack leader works tirelessly to protect her entire pack from the strongest to the weakest. She challenges them to stand their ground. She corrects them when they get out of line and she pushes them to be loyal to the pack. The alpha also takes what is rightfully hers without remorse. She knows that the strength of the pack is the pack leader and her strength is backed by the pack.
When true pack leaders are challenged, they don’t back down. They go in for the kill. They beat down anything that jeopardizes the pack. Because whether you are the pack alpha or the beta, all are important to the pack’s survival.
So drag me to the battle. Fight me in the mud and the mire, and claw at my throat in an effort to silence my truth, but beware of my pack because they have my back. For when I am down, they will rally to defend me. They will fight for my very existence and they will come back stronger each time.
Yes, I may have gaping wounds from so many attacks as others have tried to take my status as the leader of this pack, but what has harmed me hasn’t killed me. And every wound has shaped me into the leader I am today. These battles have built my character and every wound has reminded me that I still have what it takes to be the leader of this pack. I still have the strength to stand up for myself and I still have the compassion to come back fighting for my pack.
I will rise and fight until my time as the leader comes to an end. So when I look back and see all my scars from every battle I will be reminded that I may have lost a few battles, but I ultimately won the war. So throw me to the wolves baby, and I’ll return every time leading the pack because I found my pack and they always have my back.
