The other day I was driving down the road with my wife and as usual some woodland creatures were scurrying along in front of our vehicle.\u00a0 This time it was a bird and with the menacing approach (as menacing as a 1999 Toyota Rav4 can be) this little chap started from a slow gait to a bobbing furry of little feet.\u00a0 My wife screamed out to the bird (since he can obviously hear from the air tight cabin confines over the muscular roar of a the four cylinder engine) that he should get out of the way.\u00a0 At some point a neuron or two must have connected with a synapse or two and the bird stopped running and thought \u201coh wait, I have wings and can fly\u201d which he did rapidly out of the precarious position of becoming a Rav4 hood ornament.\u00a0 We laughed quite a bit about that little bird and how he had simply forgotten his natural inclination of flight to instead attempt to run out of harms way.<\/p>\n
The aviary world can actually teach us quite a bit on things of life.\u00a0 I believe that God created the heavens and the Earth, and all the creatures so sometimes studying how they work is beneficial for our own lives.\u00a0 Consider Solomon as he observed the simple ant:<\/p>\n
Proverbs 6:6-9 –\u00a0<\/b>New International Version (NIV)<\/p>\n
Go to the ant, you sluggard;
\nconsider its ways and be wise!
\nIt has no commander,
\nno overseer or ruler,
\nyet it stores its provisions in summer
\nand gathers its food at harvest.<\/p>\n
How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
\nWhen will you get up from your sleep?<\/p>\n
This morning we sat eating and my wife observed a bird out on a branch.\u00a0 I spied the bird\u2019s mate nearby.\u00a0 The males are more brightly colored than the females by design.\u00a0 They take the role of distractor if the female is threatened.\u00a0 The females are able to blend in with their environment a bit better.\u00a0 I can only imagine what kind of courage it takes a little bird to flutter and fiercely defend it\u2019s nest, it\u2019s offspring and it\u2019s mate against predators of far greater size and with larger appetites. \u00a0 A bird was designed to do what birds do, which seems pretty simple to say but thinking of us humans we have way more opportunities to mess that up.<\/p>\n
My wife shared a story a particular bird that makes it\u2019s nest in the side of hills.\u00a0 The two birds make the nest together and then the female is sealed up inside the hillside dwelling alone with just a small hole that the male comes to feed her and the subsequent offspring through.\u00a0 Each of those birds and their example is very powerful in it\u2019s own right.\u00a0 That started my own synapses to fire and thing about how we live out our lives on a day to day basis.\u00a0 Where do we walk instead of run?\u00a0 Where do we run when we can actually fly?\u00a0 How do we defend and serve our families?<\/p>\n
Let me challenge you men today to ask your wife about what would make her feel secure.\u00a0 Chances are it will not be the bass boat, the house, or the figure in your bank account.\u00a0 Knowing you are there for her and your children will (I\u2019m guessing here) be her deepest concern.\u00a0 If it\u2019s not that then you might need to dig a little bit further because there might be something terribly amiss already in your relationship.\u00a0 I can speak boldly on that topic because I know how I have missed those important points. \u00a0 I was easily distracted by the title attached to my name and the number of dollars on my pay check.\u00a0 I consider a blessing and a curse at times to be in technology as in the world of development that can mean today\u2019s bleeding knowledge is tomorrow\u2019s forgotten obsolescence.\u00a0 I\u2019ve worked for many companies that are no longer in business, but I have a family that suffered silently for them. \u00a0 Relationships matter much more than stock offerings in vaporware.<\/p>\n
If you take that challenge today, know that I have already prayed that your wife will be honest with you and that you can accept what she offers you. \u00a0 It could be a very sobering conversation.\u00a0 It could be that conversation brings you or her to the close to the final straw, or it could be that one that finally opens a door that really needed opening before it gets that far.\u00a0 Our wives don\u2019t need\u00a0 what Oprah says, or what some commercial says they are lacking. \u00a0 They need us to be fully present and willing to listen to their hearts of what they need.\u00a0 You might think that you\u2019ll be getting by a little easier but chances are there are a lot of things that you might need to give up to fulfill that calling.\u00a0 Just like God gave birds wings to fly, he gave men the tools to protect and nurture a family.\u00a0 Sometimes we are too busy running along the ground pursuing other things thinking that is the ultimate goal. \u00a0 If this hits home for you today, contact me privately or share your feelings below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"