I have not found many animals whose name, when mentioned, brings more fear and loathing than the Hyena. They have a reputation as cowardly, mangy, somewhat dim-witted, thieves and poachers. With their patchy fur and odd proportions, they certainly don't meet our standards for beauty.
I'm going to walk you through a few Hyena facts-- a little Hyena 101 class. The Hyena are neither canine nor feline, they are in fact their own species of animal. The photo above is of a young spotted Hyena. The spotted Hyena live in matriarchal clans which can contain over 80 animals, all living together. Contrary to popular belief, Hyena's are very good hunters and probably 90% of their food source is from their own hunting. What they lack in speed, they make up for in endurance. To put it simply, a Hyena will just run behind prey until the prey is exhausted. They don't tire easily. However, Hyena's are opportunists, and they will scavenge a meal if the opportunity arises. They will eat almost anything, and as scavengers they help the ecosystem by cleaning up a huge amount of dead matter. And as far as their reputation goes for stealing food-- more often than not their meal is stolen by lions. They can weigh upwards of 190 pounds. They are fierce, yet they are extremely dutiful parents. And they will protect their den and young with their life. No one who has watched them run would ever call them graceful exactly, but there is a type of strut to their gait, like they carry with them a secret bit of courage that no one knows about.
For whatever reason, I knew that I wanted to see Hyena's while in Africa. Maybe because I can't think of the African bush without picturing Hyena's as part of the landscape. Maybe because when my son was little the Lion King was one of our favorite movies and the Hyena characters gave me a good laugh. For whatever reason, I knew that I wanted to see these animals. But, as much as I wanted to view them, I was more than a little nervous about doing so. I had a preconceived notion of what it would be like to be in the middle of all that nervous energy that seemed to be always bursting out of them when I watched documentaries on Africa. Maybe it was because of their reputation.
One day, our guide told us that he had a special treat for us, we were going to visit the Hyena den, and if we were lucky, we would see some cubs. Cool! When we arrived, the adults were out, probably hunting, and had left a big sister in charge of the den.
At first they are all unsure about us and the vehicle. Sticking close to the den and big sister.
But eventually, curiosity won out over fear of the unknown, and they began to cautiously approach the vehicle to have a closer look and smell. Stopping every so often to gnaw on a stick or twig.
And as I watched these young cubs, I began to see a hidden beauty. They were smart, working out that we were there to observe them. They were brave coming up close to the vehicle. And their little golden coats caught the dappled sunlight reflecting off the golden strands of their fur.
And one glimpse into those large dark eyes and I was had. Changed. No longer did I see just a strange animal that instilled fear and a little bit of loathing. I saw the beauty of an animal that has survived and thrived for hundred of years. I saw intelligence and a strange sort of grace. And when they had satiated their curiosity about us, and they relaxed enough to play, I saw the beauty of their family bonds.
What is interesting about this, is that seeing this beauty in them didn't change what they were. They were and are still a fierce predator. They could, technically, kill me. The situation didn't change, just my view of it.
Now, take a leap with me here. We have all probably heard the Bible verse that says:
"Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18
or how about Psalm 34:1,
"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."
So what do these verses have to do with Hyena's in Africa? Remember that leap I told you about... here it is. Sometimes in life we find ourselves in the middle of circumstances that inspire in us fear and loathing. We see nothing beautiful or redemptive about where we are. These situations could be called your own personal Hyena's. These situations are ugly to look at, they strike fear into your heart, and they fill you with loathing or anger.
For my family, one of our own personal "Hyena's" has been my moms battle with cancer. And it has been a battle. My mom has lived with, fought, and battled cancer for 12 years... and she still is. It has been ugly. It has been terrifying. It has brought us to our feet in anger and drug us down to our knees in sorrow. This own personal metaphoric Hyena has run behind us and left us exhausted, and tired, and at times hopeless. And when you look at it, it doesn't look like there could possibly be anything of beauty there.
And yet, I read those verses, and others like them in the Bible, and I know that there is supposed to be more for me to see than just the ugly parts. And that's the real challenge, isn't it? How do I shift my vision of what I see in such a way that I can recognize and see the beauty? For me, that process began with inspiration from a little saying by Alice Morse Earle I came across several years ago which simply states:
"Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day."
For me, it is a process of trying to find that one thing in each circumstance that is good. It doesn't mean that I can stand here and say that my mom having cancer turned into a good thing. I just can't do that. But I can look for the good within the situation. It simply required me to take baby steps... not big leaps of faith, which made it seem more manageable for me to handle. Let me give you some examples:
1. When the doctors say that her cancer is terminal, which they have been very clear about from the beginning... I can look back and be grateful that even though this is true, we have had 12 years with her. Which I see as a beautiful gift. No one is promised tomorrow. No one....
2. When mom had to take early retirement from a career that she loved... I can look back and be grateful that she then had the extra time to spend with her husband, her children, and most importantly her grandchildren-- who all love and adore their "Memaw"
3. When this cancer took my mom's voicebox (and thus her voice) .... I can watch her in church, still worshipping and praising God... and know deep down in my soul that to God, no one's voice is as beautiful as the somewhat silent one my mother raises to him.
And those are just a few examples of what I hold close to my heart when I am tempted to see only the ugly parts.
Let me be clear, acknowledging and being grateful for the bits of beauty in this situation doesn't change the nature of the circumstance. The cancer is still ugly. It is still hard. It is still terrifying, and brutal, and all of those scary and loathsome things. But at the same time there are small beauties to be found. And upon further reading of the Bible, I believe that God wants us to have good things in our life. I believe he places beauty all around us even in hard and difficult situations. But, you sometimes have to do the hard work of looking for them. And that's the key to living life abundantly and fully. Life isn't solely made up of the ugly stuff. It isn't solely made up of the beautiful stuff either. A full, complete, abundant life has both parts in it. And living fully requires you to see both the beauty and the ugliness, the sorrow and the joy. That's a full life. A whole life. And that's the sort of life I am seeking to live.
I want to live fully, completely, tasting all it has to offer. I want to be able to look back on my life and know that I abundantly lived the way the God wanted me to. Some days it's very hard to do this. Some days I mostly see the ugliness of my Hyena's. And I have to search for that brief glimpse of beauty.
I don't know what your situation is, I only know that no one gets through life unscathed and without scars. No one. But I hope that you will begin to search out ways to live fully and abundantly. That means living in the good, bad, and the ugly of life. Resist the temptation to only live in the bad... make yourself search for the beauty-- even if it's only a brief glimpse or glimmer of it-- in each day. Remind yourself that God didn't call you to live life halfway. He called you into the fullness of it. I hope you leave today's blog hopeful and encouraged. I'll leave you with a few more Bible verses that I repeat to myself often when I am struggling to glimpse the goodness and beauty in a situation. I'll also leave you with a few more photos of those beautiful Hyena cubs.
"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:51
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10
"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8
"Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." Psalm 34:10
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18
"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:29-31
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassion's never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23
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