“Loaded for Bear” is a loaded phrase. I used it in my 1/1/17 blog post “The Vision I can’t Unsee.” It needs a bit of unpacking.
While I’ve never encountered a bear up close and certainly don’t want to, I have had many outdoor experiences where the potential was present.
- Urban Dictionary defines the phrase, “loaded for bear” as: “To be prepared, mentally and/or physically, for extreme opposition; typically used in reference to an aggressive or potentially violent situation. The phrase originates with American hunters and woodsmen in regions frequented by the brown bear.”
- The Free Dictionary offers: “Fully prepared for action. This term, dating from the mid-1800s, alludes to the heavy charge of powder or lead that hunters use for large animals like a bear.”
- Wiktionary suggests the following: “An allusion to equipping oneself with the sort of heavy weaponry suitable for hunting large game.”
Alone, my 5’3” height would do zero to scare away a bear, brown or otherwise.
As an adult, sleeping out without a tent or something to keep the dew from blanketing my bag and face isn’t really my cup of tea. But I do love camping, hiking, and backpacking, IN GROUP! Alone, my 5’3” height would do zero to scare away a bear, brown or otherwise.
The sentiment underlying my choice of the term “loaded for bear” is expressed in a few of the other secondary definitions from The Free Dictionary and Wiktionary.
- The Free Dictionary offers: “Ready and eager to deal with something that is going to be difficult.”
- Wiktionary offers the following: “Thoroughly equipped, as for a demanding task or confrontation.”“Mentally prepared for a daunting situation or confrontation.”
A God-sized dream can, by definition, be so large (even BEAR-size) that it can scare even the most courageous among us.
A God-sized dream can, by definition, be so large (even BEAR-size) that it can scare even the most courageous among us. When my vision began to expand from having receptions on our physical property to helping people all across the nation “build” their receptions, it seemed too big, too challenging.
There was so much to do . . .
- Create an Advisory Board
- Write the Business plan
- Write the Social Media Business plan
- Construct the prototypes for the screens and databases
- Bring the CPA team and legal team on board
- Interview and select a web designer
- Create an identity and name
- Secure the URLs and social media accounts
- Consider Trademark, Copyrights . . . and what has proved most challenging . . .
- Find a way to fund the new business startup!
I’ve discovered that if out on a limb is where He leads, it’s literally the safest place to be.
While we have completed our big list above and have launched the prelude we call Vibrant Space, the rest of the story is still unfolding. How we will fully fund the remaining, majority of the project still ahead of us, only God knows. I feel like I have followed Him out on the proverbial limb, and while I should be nervous and anxious about how and when it will all work out, I’m finally not. I’m at peace. Full of hope. I’ve discovered that if out on a limb is where He leads, it’s literally the safest place to be.
As the secondary definitions of “loaded for bear” depict, I am “ready and eager,” “equipped,” and “mentally prepared” to do my part in seeing matters shift in this year, 2017. And more significantly, I’m ready to believe and trust God for everything that is NOT my responsibility--parting the red sea, bringing down the walls of Jericho, turning water into wine--you know, miracles! The things that only He can do.
