I got the word lion tattooed on my hands the summer after I graduated high school. That summer, my days were filled with college cheerleading practices by morning and working at a cheer gym in the afternoons, with my passion for writing and sharing Jesus through this blog growing more and more.

College cheerleading was a much shorter-lived season of my life than I anticipated it to be, lasting only three months, with the tattoo fading away even quicker. However, I learned a lot that summer (with one of those lessons being that new finger tattoos and college cheerleading camp aren’t the best of friends).

Highlights from that summer consist of the many conversations I had that made my heart beat ten times faster in the best way possible. And many of those conversations started with the question,

“So, what does lion mean?”

And considering you clicked on this post, I’m assuming you want to know the answer as well. And, friend, I’M GLAD TO SHARE.

I could tell you a bunch of tiny stories, but I think I’ll keep it simple and just give it to you pretty straight.

Lion means that I know who I am.

I love the poem by Bella Robertson that says:

“I am a lion finding its roar

I was just a shadow, but now I’m much more.

I will no longer be silent.

I will no longer be still.

I am a lion who found their roar.”

I repeat it to myself often. It’s become my daily mantra. I used to be pretty confused and insecure about myself. I would compare myself to others and base my worth on how flat my stomach was or something. And can I just say, that is not the way to truly live.

I knew I was worth more than the surface-level things I let define me. I would never walk up to someone and say, “You know you would be worth more if you would just lose this much weight, have this job title, dress more like this person, etc.”

That’s not what I would say at all, because that’s not what I would see at all. That’s not how I base the worth of other people and it’s become of me that I don’t base my worth on that kind of scale either.

I’ve realized I had that mindset for myself because I believed what God said about His children for other people, but I didn’t believe it and see it for myself. Through this season of my life, I’ve had to learn to accept the promises God has written in His Word, which leads me to the point:

Lion means that I know who I am because I know who God is.

My college cheerleading coach spoke wise words to me when I was leaving the team. He said,

“Someone once told me that I know God, but ten years from now I’ll be amazed at how much I didn’t know.”

Another quote I love is one I heard on the ‘WHOA That’s Good’ podcast.

“Get to know Jesus; He’s worth getting to know.”

Pursuing Jesus has been the most worthwhile thing I have ever done. It’s a constant pursuit, so I’m still doing it. And now, months after my coach spoke those words to me, I’m amazed at how much they've proven to be true for me (even just a few months later).

I would have never truly come to know Jesus as the only one who truly satisfies until I lost what I let define me and satisfy me most.

I’ve come to know Jesus’ faithfulness in a brand new way after realizing how amazing it is that His Word is always true and His promises never fail, even when I found myself in moments where mine did.

And I’ve come to experience the friendship Jesus offers to me- to all of us- through life with Him in a way I never had before. And with that, a reminder of how important and amazing it is to tell other people about Him. Which leads me to my last point:

Lion means to share your testimony. Share your stories.

Even the little ones.

I love the part of Bella’s poem where she says,

“I am a lion who found their roar.”

There’s so much confidence in that statement!

It’s such a great reminder that we all have a story to tell.

Like I said before, there are a bunch of tiny stories from my life that tell of the meaning of lion and even why lions themselves came to symbolize purpose for me.

But you know what? They all look a little bit like this one.

I see a lion (in this case a college mascot and a tattoo), and God whispers purpose to me, leaving me with the same thought every single time.

“KNOW JESUS, AND MAKE HIM KNOWN.”

TYJ

TARA

(Me + Mom right before I got the tattoo of my dreams.)