Serve Your Dragons Tea

"Serve Your Dragons Tea"

There is nothing like a bit of Buddhist poetry to remind me that we Christians are not the only ones searching for wisdom and understanding. So what does it mean?

The dragon represents fear while the tea ceremony is a ceremony of great dignity and respect. It is not about surrendering to fear at all, but about understanding fear, respecting it, and being able to move about with dignity in the presence of that fear.

So what does this have to do with being Christian? Allow me to present another quote, perhaps a bit more familiar.

"Be not afraid."

This phrase appears 365 times in Scripture. That is once for every day in a year. So I have to ask myself this question: "Why am I so often held prisoner to my fears?"

Perhaps because my faith is weaker than I would like to admit. Perhaps I forget to place myself in the presence of my Lord and Savior and to trust in His power.

Does fear have power?

Power is defined as "the ability to act or produce an effect". Fear is an emotion. It has no power in its own right. I give it power when I allow fear to control my actions. For example; fear did not keep me in two abusive relationships. I did that because I allowed myself to use fear as an excuse to not act, to not use my power to change my surroundings.

It has taken me years to come to any understanding of my fears. God allows me to experience fear because there is so much I can learn from fear. I learn that I have to place my trust in Him. I learn that with His power and guidance, I can trust myself to navigate the stormy waters of life. I learn that fear can teach me to avoid situations that are dangerous or unhealthy. Without experiencing fear, how would I learn to trust? How would I know safety? How would I know security?

So what am I so afraid of? Silly things scare me like bees, needles, tight spaces, and thunderstorms. But then there is cold hard fear. Fear of being abandoned, alone, unloved, unwanted and forgotten. Fear of not living life but surviving it. Fear of fear controlling me. Do you see the vicious cycles I set up for myself? I lock myself into the clutches of a monstrous dragon called FEAR. Now what?

Now, I stop and try to understand. Why am I afraid? What power do I have? How can I use my ability to act to control fear instead of allowing fear to control me? As I journal, I can lock my fears to the page and now I have a respect for what my fears are trying to teach me. I can serve tea.

Okay, so not always. I have some dragons that smash the china and devour the table. But then every day I can look to the Bible and remember not to be afraid because I am precious in His sight. I have the power of God within me and fear has nothing on that.