A few weeks ago, I was speed-reading through our local newspaper. I speed-read for apparent reasons. It is no wonder that many moms are not diagnosed with ADD. Ok, see? I am distracted already. Anyhow, I was reading through the paper, when I came across an article that drew in my attention and my imagination. The writer was describing an event that had taken place a few days earlier in the town site of Canmore, 15 minutes from my house. No one had actually witnessed this grisly scene, but conservation officers, after a short investigation were able to piece together the events that had taken place.
They believe that a male bighorn sheep of considerable size had wandered along a cliff that overhung a large creek bed. For some time prior, possibly even hours, this particular sheep had been followed by an animal that is becoming more common to our area, and is causing some concern, the mountain lion. This mountain lion had tirelessly tracked the sheep for an unbelievably long time before making his move.
When a mountain lion finally pounces, it is with a deadly certainty. He will act with lightning swiftness, clamping its powerful jaws shut on the neck of the unfortunate animal that was his prey. He will then, no matter the injuries he himself incur es, will stubbornly refuse to let go of his prey until the battle is won. This particular battle was a fierce one. This muscular sheep was also determined to live, and would refuse to go down without a fight. He drug the mountain lion, possibly for hundreds of feet. The investigation found plants uprooted, rocks moved, branches broken where the two animals had struggled. As the sheep began to tire, he lay down and started to roll down an embankment, dragging the lion with him. The two majestic animals rolled for about forty feet before plummeting off a ten foot cliff into the creek bed below. The battle was finally won, and the lion waited until the sheep had drawn his final breath before he released his hold. Exhausted, he lay down beside his kill, while he tried to regain his strength. Generally, a mountain lion will drag his kill into the forest, away from any dangers that would interrupt his hard-earned meal. However, this lion, due to lack of strength and possibly injuries incurred from the long fight, left the sheep in the middle of the creek bed. He fed for a short amount of time before the rising sun, and morning movement in the town startled him away. A early morning hiker called in the bloody scene, and a few days later, the town and surrounding area read about the battle.
This was a reminder to many of us that we live in the Rocky Mountains, in the midst of a large wildlife corridor. We are constantly receiving warnings about the dangers that surround us.
That same week, a friend of ours, a girl that Blue went to high school with, contacted Blue about some work. When he arrived at her business several days later, she apologized that she wasn't completely prepared for the meeting. When he inquired, she tearfully explained that her husband, father of her four children, had left her. Her story was so unbelievably sad, and yet not so uncommon. We, as Christians, live in a very dangerous place. We are in the middle of an enormous worldly corridor. We are surrounded by danger, and many of us ignore the warnings that are given. Jesus warned us that we are to live in the world, but not of the world. He warned us that we have an fierce enemy seeking to devour us. Sometimes, in my comfy marriage, in my comfy church, in my comfy country, in my comfy life, I need a reminder of the dangers.
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