The Eagle…

Do you know that when the ‘Eagle’ mates, it mates for Life?!

Do you know that the female eagle very carefully chooses said mate by testing several male eagles before actually settling on her life partner?

Girls, listen up! This is for you! A lot can be learned from the actions of a female eagle!

Guys, there is something for you to learn too! So don’t leave just yet! 🙂

First of all let me explain to you how the female eagle chooses her mate:

When it comes time for the female Eagle to choose her
mate, she prepares herself for many suitors. She looks them over quite well and
then picks one to fly with for awhile. If she likes
the way he flies she finds a small stick, picks it up
and flies high with it. At some point she will drop
the stick to see if the male can catch it. If he does,
then she finds a larger stick and flies with it much
higher this time. Each time the male catches the
sticks, she continues to pick up larger and larger
sticks. When she finds the largest, heaviest stick
that she herself can carry (the stick is at this point
almost the size of a small log, but she can still fly
very high with this large stick) she throws it down as the final part of this test. 
 At any time in this process, if the male fails to
catch the stick, she flies away from him as her signal
that the test is now over. She begins her search all
over again. And when she again finds a male she is
interested in, she starts testing him in the exact
same way. And she will continue this “testing” until
she finds the male Eagle who can catch all the sticks.

Another test she will do is during their courtship. The female will fly to the highest heights and then free-fall to the ground. The male will then swoop down and lock talons with her. She will fall as low as she possibly can to see if the male eagle will stay with her protecting her even from death. If he passes this test, he conveys a simple message: he is committed to her.

And when a male eagle does pass all her tests, she chooses him, and will mate with
him for life.

So, girls, what do you have to learn from the eagle?!…

Well, let’s start with this:  What qualities are you looking for in your future husband….?! Do you want a man that is committed to you, until death?! How well are you ‘testing’ your suitors before you give them a full time position in your life? (…and by testing I mean asking important questions…testing your ‘suitors’ loyalty to your friendship- if your ‘suitor’ isn’t loyal to you in friendship- chances are that he will not be loyal to you in love either.)

It is important to filter the men we allow into our lives. Most importantly, don’t do the filtering on your own. As you are doing your ‘testing’ remember this verse as you ‘free-fall’: “…but those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31” Put your full trust in God and the Holy Spirit will do all the guiding you will ever need!

And guys, what do you have to learn?

Likewise you need to filter which girls you allow in to your heart. Ask God to be your guide as well in choosing which female you will prove your greatest love to! Which female you will choose to pass all her tests, and which female you will lock talons with to prove to her you are her’s for life! When God directs you to which girl he has choosen for you- chase her like you are chasing after water in the desert!

To both guys and girls:

God has someone already picked out for each and every one of you. Someone that will love you, and cherish you until death parts you. Please, PLEASE, put your faith and trust in him to guide you to this person. Don’t let friends pressure you into thinking that you need to date dozens of people before settling down with the one he has for you. Do test your ‘suitors’ girls. Being friends with a guy is much, much different than giving your heart to him. And guys, when God does direct you to that special girl- make sure you declare your devotion to her and cherish her all the days of your life.

Mom’s and Dad’s: Pray for your kids and the decisions they will make in their furture days regarding love Pray for their spouses. Even if you have little one’s like Nathan and I, pray for their spouses. It is never too early or late to start!! 

 

When God wrote OUR love story…. (Part I)

A friend and fellow blogger, Joanne Rivest requested in a post she wrote a couple days ago, that us ladies share how God wrote our love stories. I’m kind of a sucker for romance and love…so I just couldn’t resist joining in the fun. So, here goes!

Our love story began on July 24, 2002….

He was 20 (almost 21) and I was 18! We had met before at my home church in Halifax, NS however this  particular days conversation was more special and sparked a little more interest….in both of us…

We met at a water park in lower sackville called “Atlantic Playland”. We were there with the youth group for a summer activity…and we somehow ended up chatting most of the afternoon/evening away. I thought he was an interesting person, someone that I might like to get to know a bit better.

I had written a christmas musical for the youth group that summer to be performed at christmas time- and needed Nathan’s help and support as he was the lay youth pastor beginning that September. He was very willing to help me with my endeavor. We realized through those months leading up to christmas that we shared a lot interests, three of which stuck out over the rest:

1) We both love God with all our hearts and desired to serve him with our lives.

2) We both LOVE and are passionate about music and the arts! There were many nights that we would find ourselves at the piano in my home church…Nathan playing wonderfully as he does and me singing along.

3) We were falling in love with each other.

We spent HOURS on the phone talking that fall. When I say hours… I do not exaggerate! I would wait ever so patiently for his call as soon as I returned home from my classes at Saint Mary’s University….and we would chat until 2, 3 sometimes 4 in the morning!! What did we talk about?!…I really don’t know how we came up with so many things to fill the hours we spent in conversation, but if you can believe it, there wasn’t a whole lot of dead air during our phone calls. We chatted about everything!

In those months we became the very best of friends.

In February of 2003- February 23 to be exact, Nathan was baptized in waters. Unfortunately due to a HUGE snowstorm that night my family was unable to make it in to church that night 😦 I have never felt more horrible about missing something in my whole life- the guy I was falling so in LOVE with was making this HUGE step in his walk with God and here I was missing it. I honestly didn’t think that anything would ever be able to cheer me up that night. Until he called….

Nathan called me as soon as he got home that night! He told me all about his wonderful night and how blessed he felt after making this step of faith. After we chatted for a while he asked me to be his girlfriend….I know, I know…sounds old fashioned, right?! But- I wouldn’t have it any other way. I believe it’s important for that declaration that “we’re a couple” not be something that was assumed over time. The day you become a couple needs to be marked by decision by both of the individuals involved. And our relationship was: He asked me to be his girlfriend. And I said YES! YES! YES! 🙂

February 23…. I still remember the butterflies I felt from my head to my toes when I went to bed that night. Nathan Hill aske ME to be HIS girlfriend!!! I remember telling Nathan over the phone that night that I needed to go to the washroom, putting the phone down and TEARING upstairs to announce to my parents that “HE ASKED ME! HE ASKED ME! HE ASKED ME!!!” At that point, it was a question we were all anticipating!

The first weekend in March we went to “Paradise, NS” with our young adult group The Pier. It was actually a really great weekend for us as a new couple. We had a session or two as just young adult ladies, and they had a couple sessions as just young adult men. We learned some important things about relationships….and we also saw some solid dating/married relationships exemplified that weekend which we still totally respect today! (To name a few: Mark & Pauline Peters; Dave & Marika Holmes; Phil & Doretta Zinck; and Pastor Jon & Jan Zinck!) 

At the end of the weekend, back in Halifax just before we said goodbye and before my parents picked me up to bring me back home…. we shared our first kiss. It was the first time in my whole life that I knew what ‘weak in the knees‘ felt like. That kiss was sweet and soft and left me anticipating our next date!

In the months that followed we courted, and enjoyed each others company as much as we could. He lived in the city and was in his 4th year at Dalhousie University while I lived outside the city and was a freshman at Saint Mary’s Uninversity. We would walk incredible amounts to see each other during the weekdays…I would skip miss the occasional class in order to meet him in between his labs and classes and he would do the same as time would allow. At the time, Nathan did not have a car so we made the most of our time together by seeing each other in between classes. Of course, we would see each other every Sunday at church as well and my parents would have him out to our house for dinner afterward.

Each moment we spent together solidified the love we were discovering we had for one another….

I was careful not to become too crazy in love. Nathan also did a good job of guarding his feelings and keeping them at an appropriate level. I was still very young… only 18….and the majority of the relationships I witnessed were high school relationships- careless and obsessive. Nathan was extremely special to me and I wanted to make sure that I kept my relationship with him mature.

The truth was I was falling more and more in love with him each time we spoke whether that was in person or over the phone. And, the more I got to know him- the more peace God gave me that Nathan was The One. So, it was a real challenge for me to keep my feelings at a mature level…because my heart felt like it was ready to burst and explode with love for him!!!

I would love to continue sharing our love story, however I promised a little boy that we would go outside to play in the backyard because it is such a beautiful sun-shiny day today! So, stay tuned for Part II.

I hope you all have a great day!!