"Mom, Lions here?"

Another dear family who recently adopted a young daughter and son from Ethiopia shared a story on their blog. The mom and the young son were having a one on one bike ride back and forth in front of their house. They have a greenbelt..grassy area around their house and her son asked "Mom, Lion's here?" She talked about how she forgets that all things are new to him. http://journeytolayla.blogspot.com/

I was thinking how different their lives have been, these wonderful children we are bringing from afar. So many experiences we had not imagined. I want to stay in tune and connected to that.

I also thought about me. Am I showing them where the "lions are"? Or do I take for granted they know where danger is and what is safe?

In our culture there are so many hiding lions and even with a 10 year, I cannot leave it to chance that he is going to recognize safety vs a danger zone. Friends and relationships. Entertainment. Activities. Internet. Even thought life and self-talk. All of it can have some hidden lions...waiting to devour.

I don't want to scare my children, but I do want to take the time to teach and protect them, as well as educate them on how to detect and protect themselves.

So yes, there are lions here, in America...not just in the zoo, and sometimes not readily recognizable.