Life's Dragons

It came to me so suddenly,

Way too quick for me to see

And stop it before it got too close

For me to leave it be.

I had never been so close to this

To see, and even feel

The breath of this great dragon,

Which, to me, was far too real.

I had heard stories about it,

But simple myths, they seemed to me;

Before, I had simply caught a glimpse,

But didn't really see.

But now it's right in front of me,

With its terrifying claws and fiery breath;

There ain't no way around this beast,

You have to slay it like the rest.

But I am no Galliath,

I do not stand at nine feet tall;

I am much smaller with no armor,

And no army at my call.

I look around quite frantically

For a bow, a sling, a sword,

But what I then see next alarms me,

Far more than lack of sword.

I see people all around me,

But I still stand there all alone;

They are all staring down at me,

As if they're on a throne.

Cheers start coming from the crowd,

"You can do it! It's no big deal!"

While I appreciate their optimism,

I feel I'm about to be a meal.

I begin to feel more overwhelmed

And exhaustion is quickly setting in,

I don't know how to keep this up,

And how they're all so sure I'm gonna win!

I have been putting up this front,

Acting tougher and bigger than I am;

I had been feeding myself their same lie,

Until one sudden day, WA-BAM!!!

I couldn't fight it anymore,

And the dragon hit me hard;

I don't know how to bounce back from this,

It left far more than just a scar.

Its claws ripped me open and cut down deep,

I'm laying, bleeding on the floor;

The crowd continues to cheer me on,

But I don't know what for.

And that was when I saw it,

Right when everything was going black;

Someone, maybe an angel,

Reached out and brought me back.

"You can do this! You're not alone!"

Their voice then said to me,

"I know that things look bad right now,

But they'll look up, you'll see!"

And then another angel came,

This time with a sword;

He put His arm around me,

And then told me on His word,

To stab the beast where it was weak,

Instead of simply going for the kill;

Although that was our greatest hope,

For us, it showed our will.

I quickly then marched forward,

Courageously doing as I'm told,

Letting go, I toss my fears

And break free of the mold;

That I had not created,

But had been created for myself;

I took those feelings and expectations

And put them on a shelf.

Now here I am, I'm face to face,

There ain't no way out now,

I see the dragon, take a deep breath,

And finally know how!

I raise my sword and take a swing,

But it just stares at me,

I do not kill it, but it's injured enough

For me to drop my sword and flee.

Although I did not slay the beast,

And at times it still likes to follow me,

It has now been trained somewhat

To listen and leave me be.

And on those days when things get tough,

And the light is getting dim,

I know deep down to not distress

And trust my life in Him.