by David Scott Robertson
I don’t know a lot about aviation and I know even less about women, but I do know a little about both. And as odd as it may sound, there is connection between the two, particularly as it has to do with marriage.
Flying has always fascinated me. I’ll admit that it’s been tough for me to grasp some of the concepts that make air travel possible. How the Air Force’s C-5 cargo plane (which boasts a payload of roughly 10,000 square feet) can fly carrying Abram's tanks and tractor trailer trucks and fire engines and hummers (all at the same time!) is beyond me. But God created the Law of Thermodynamics and gave man permission to comprehend it and harness its potential.
Mankind has come a long way since Wilbur and Orville Wright first flew into the history books. As a matter of fact, the length of the Wright Brothers historic first flight could literally have fit inside the C-5 transport plane!
Airplanes, like women, come in all shapes and sizes (literally and figuratively). And in the context of the marriage relationship, I see some striking similaries as it has to do with a married woman's personality. Let me give you a few examples of what I’m talking about…
Some wives are like hang gliders. A hang glider allows a person to jump off a cliff and “fly” for a while until they eventually drift to earth. Some wives are like that. They possess absolutely no spiritual power. There’s no “motor” in them to sustain the forward motion of spiritual progress in their life (you see, prayer is the engine that drives personal revival, and some wives don't have a prayer life.) Consequently, the men that are married to “glider wives” eventually get dragged down from the destiny. Sometimes what starts off as exhilarating fun ends up in a crash landing resulting in injuries.
Some wives are like a plane simply called a glider. Gliders have to be towed behind a motorized vehicle (some wives rely on someone else' spiritual experience to carry them) and then released to catch the thermals and glide as long as possible. Some wives are just like that. Although they are a bit more sophisticated that a hang glider, they too have no engine to drive them forward spiritually. The men that are married to “glider women” will never reach their potential in God and “go the distance” because their woman continually pulls them down and holds them back. Their wife is always in search of a better high – perhaps a higher income, a higher standard of living, a higher social standing, or maybe even a narcotic or alcoholic high. Men married to “gliders” are always restrained by environmental conditions.
Some wives are like aircraft called “ultra-lights.” (By the way, some men mistakenly think thinness in their woman is a superior factor to her holines and character; not true!) Ultra-lights are usually a single passenger hang-glider with a small engine strapped behind the seat. Husbands married to “ultra-lights” are usually “married singles.” That is, the wife has her life, her friends, and her agenda, and she usually sails off into the wild blue yonder on her own. If the husband of an “ultra-light wife” objects, she usually flies off the handle.
Some wives are like Lear Jets. They are built to fly the corporate mission. “Lear Jet wives” are married to their careers. They want to prove that they can succeed in a “man’s world” while leaving husband and family standing at the gate.
Other wives remind me of Jumbo Jets (figuratively speaking, of course!). These type of wives are built to fly with the crowd. To their view, the more passengers along for the ride, the better! These are wives that fill their lives and schedules with lots of social activity, even including other male friends. Unfortunately, there’s not much time left over for intimacy with her husband. But she reasons that’s okay because she feels closer to some of her female and male friends at the health club than she does to her husband anyway.
Some wives are like fighter jets. They are armed and dangerous. They are on guard 24/7 against anything that might hurt them, including their husband. They had a mean-spirited attitude toward their spouse that keeps them from flying the friendly skies together.
Then there are wives that I liken to the space shuttle. These are women that can go supersonic. They can go to heights that few others can and sustain speeds that would incinerate other aircraft made of lesser expensive materials. They can actually leave the earth’s atmosphere and view celestial sights beyond description. And they are built to withstand re-entering earth’s unforgiving atmosphere without burning up.
I am very aware of recent national tragedies that have involved NASA’s space shuttle program ending spectacular missions in heartbreaking disaster. And to continue with our analogy, this only shows that no woman (or wife) is perfect. But nevertheless the design of the space shuttle is a modern marvel that personifies creative genius.
To me, my wife is like the space shuttle (and I say that in a respectful and admiring way!) My wife was created by the greatest Genius of all time, God Himself. He designed her for speed and height. One writer put it this way: "God created us to soar with the eagles not scratch dirt with the turkeys!"
My wife is fearfully and wonderfully made and that my soul knows very well. Like the space shuttle, she is a sophisticated and complex mechanism having a multitude of talents and abilities, many of which I have yet to discover. Her potential is unlimited.
Men who are fortunate enough to be are married to “space shuttle wives” are free to explore the vast expanse of the unknown together. They can go far, high, and very, very fast together investigating the mysteries and wonders of God all within the safe context of the secure capsule of married love. Together, this couple can perform rich experiments in the things of God and fly to destinations that only a privileged few will ever see.
God’s will for every married woman is for her to be a “space shuttle wife.” God’s will for every man is to entrust him with a woman of this caliber. This kind of woman is a design after His own heart and He loves her completely. He doesn't hand the keys of her life over to just anyone. No men who will pilot a "space shuttle wife" must be trained.
Fortunately, God has given us His Holy Spirit as our Trainer that daily unstructs us how to operate such a sophisticated and valuable invention from the heart of God. Just like each space shuttle costs millions of dollars so each woman of this caliber is priceless and one-of-a-kind. Only by regular and thorough training from the Bible can a husband receive certification to operate at these unusual levels.
The Lord, in His wisdom, surrounds husbands and wives with an experienced team of scientists (apostles), engineers (prophets), technicians (evangelists), business executives (pastors), and skilled workers (teachers) who all co-labor with God to craft your marriage into the union He intends for it to be.
DSR
10/9/03