Sailor Moon: fighting through fears and tears

I've been feeling pretty nostalgic lately.  Luckily, or maybe unluckily, Hulu has helped me indulge in this nostalgia by having nearly every television show I loved as a child available for streaming.  I mean they have all of the TGIF shows!!!!

A week or two ago, my sister Ashley texted my cousins, Mercy and Merlin, and myself to let us know that Sailor Moon was on Hulu.  All of us were very excited because Sailor Moon was THE thing for the four of us as kids.  We spent hours pretending to be the Sailor Scouts as kids.

Mercy, as a kid wanted to be a doctor and had somewhat of a bob so she was Sailor Mercury.  Ashley, was the most athletic of us and could do a kickass high ponytail so she was Sailor Jupiter. Merlin was Sailor Mars, for really no other reason than she had really beautiful long black hair and looked particularly good in red.  I, of course, was Sailor Moon, because I was the oldest and could make myself the title character. Also, I had such a crush on Tuxedo Moon!  We had no Sailor Venus.

(Please note that the pictures are just to show off my beautiful family, and highlight why we chose each person for their role, obviously we were not playing Sailor Moon well into our teens and early 20s!) 

As a kid, I had this image of Sailor Moon as this brave epitome of girl power who "fought evil by moonlight, won love by daylight, and never ran from a real fight!" However, as I've been re-watching the show, I've realized how off my perception of her was.  She was constantly afraid and crying about how dangerous the enemy was.  She usually had to be dragged/shamed into battle by her talking cat, Luna, and the other Sailor Scouts, particularly Sailor Mars -- who always ran head first into battle.  And yet, somehow, she's the hero of the show!!! (Side note, Merlin is Sailor Mars- today she lives in Medellin, Columbia, which Time Magazine once named the most dangerous city in the world, as a full time missionary.  She is running head first into battle!)

The more episodes I've re-watched, the more I've realized how similar I am to Sailor Moon.  I say that I want to do God's will- whatever that may be.  I want to face the enemy, win the battle, be the hero, live an extraordinary life! -- but I am scared.  And fulfilling God's calling comes with a cost. There will be battle wounds. 

Over the years, I have faced many storms - my illness, my parents' illnesses, ministry hurts and obstacles, employment woes, and a failed marriage.  Each situation, which I know God allowed into my life, has caused me to think, if I continue to walk in God's will, what painful situation will I have to face next?  Life is so much easier if I just stay in the safe places, and never fight. I could have a comfortable life, free of most of that pain. Or at least with less pain, and less pain is good, right? Many times I've just wanted to sit down and cry -- right in the middle of the battlefield.

And to be honest, sometimes I have.  But like Sailor Moon, I didn't stay down.  Why? Because of my Sailor Scouts and Luna!  God has graciously surrounded me with amazing parents, wonderful sisters and brothers-in-law, cousins, friends, and pastors who -- sometimes with words of encouragement, and other times with a swift kick in the pants -- call me to get up and fight!  Moreover, the Holy Spirit is always counseling, advising, and directing -- "Asha get up, keep moving, press on, this battle belongs to the Lord."  And suddenly a faith swells up.  A confidence that my God is with me.  A resoluteness that the victory is mine. 

Life can be overwhelming.  As my pastor reminded me this week, we have a real enemy who will use the situations of our life to try and take us out.  At the same time, we have a real mission -- to win souls for Christ.  The enemy will throw anything he can in our way to keep us from that goal, but like David in 1 Samuel 30, we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord.  We must remember that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind!"  Fulfilling God's will for our lives means that we can't just cower in fear, or hide in comfort.  We must get up, dust ourselves off, and press on.  Even when life's storms hit us like a hurricane, or like a cascading barrage of waves in the middle of the ocean, we still have to move forward.  We need to fight through the fears and tears.  Doing anything less, means living a second best life that never really accomplishes anything.  We are called to more.

If you are having trouble coming back from the hardships of life, I would encourage you to get yourself some Sailor Scouts.  We are not called to walk this world alone.  The Bible repeatedly tells believers to encourage each other -- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 10:24-25, Hebrews 3:13.  So find people who will encourage you to get back up!

Finally, I leave you with an oldie but a goodie, Twila Paris's The Warrior Is A Child.  It has brought me years of encouragement and boldness.  I pray it does the same for you.