Waiting for the sleeping lion to roar…

I have borrowed the title of this post, and I must apologise. Although the phrase itself has come into my mind every day since I first read it, I cannot recall who used it originally. The phrase was used to describe living with Biliary Atresia, and for me it was a perfect description.

The lion is always there. You can always see him, out of the corner of your eye. He is fast asleep. Others find it easy to forget he is there; after all, he is so quiet that you can barely hear him breathe. You can even forget him yourself sometimes. He becomes a background object, barely noticeable. But he is there.

Other times you suddenly stop and think ‘That’s a LION’ and it absolutely terrifies you. Even though he is asleep, he’s still a lion. He might wake up at any moment….and then what can we do? We cannot run, for he is our lion and we have to face him.

Sometimes, the lion may stir from his sleep. He twitches a muscle, or snores, or his eye opens just a crack. Your mouth is dry, your heart pounds – until long after he is peacefully sleeping again.

One day, the lion must surely wake. No one can know if he will wake slowly or quickly, or how loudly he will roar. When he does, we must summon all our strength to face him, for he is a formidable beast.

We can only hope that he stays asleep, for there is no way to make him go. He is part of our lives, and we have no choice but to face him with all the courage we can muster.