Monday, October 6, 2008

Slaying the Dragon



So there is this princess right...and she's stuck up in some dumb tower that is guarded by a big ferocious dragon.  This dragon is forcing the princess to stay locked up in her tower.... all alone.  This goes on for  years and years, with no sign of hope.  Finally, a handsome prince shows up to save the day....but when get gets a look at that dragon's teeth he drops his sword and sprints in the other direction.  He doesn't think he has what it takes to defeat it.  This continues to happen with a number of different princes.  Maybe they can't handle a lengthy battle, they change their mind and want a different princess, or maybe they just decide they aren't ready to fight this dragon.  Regardless of the circumstance, the princess is getting pretty impatient waiting for someone to come and slay this dragon, get her out of the tower, and ride her off into the sunset on a gallant white steed.  So the next prince comes along, sword drawn and colors blazing.  The princess decides that she is NOT letting this one get away and she comes down out of that tower, takes the sword from prince, slays the dragon herself, and throws herself at the feet of the prince.  

Do they live happily ever after?

No.

Why not?

Because the prince did not have to fight to win her heart.  The princess did all of the work.  The very thing that prince was designed to do (kill the dragon, save the princess) was taken from him.  Now he doesn't want this princess. He wants to go out and find a princess that will let him slay her dragon.  

Bummer.  

I listened to some speakers talk about this very thing two weeks ago.  Ladies...you are the princess.  Gentlemen...you are the prince.  And the dragon...represents the battle that a man should go through to win a woman's heart.  Some of you may be thinking, "Okay we are no longer living in the 1950's and these ideas are old school.  Women are equal to men, they should be able to slay this dragon, they should be able to pursue a guy."

Hear me out....

Two really awesome books that I've read on this subject are "Captivating" and "Wild at Heart" by Jon and Stasi Eldridge.  The books talk about the fact that we were both (men and women) designed and created very differently from each other.  Read this excerpt from "Captivating, Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul"

One of my favorite games growing up was "kidnapped and rescued"  I know many little girls who played this-- or wished they had.  To be the beauty, abducted by the bad guys, fought for and rescued by a hero-- some version of this had a place in all our dreams.  Like Sleeping Beauty, like Cinderella, like Maid Marian, or like Cora in the Last of the Mohicans, I wanted to be the heroine and have my hero come for me.  Why am I embarrassed to tell you this?  I simply loved feeling wanted and fought for.  This desire is set deep in the heart of every little girl-- and every woman.  Yet most of us are ashamed of it.  We downplay it.  We pretend that it is less than it is.  We are women of the twenty-first century after all-- strong, independent, and capable, thank you very much.  Uh-huh. . .and who is buying all those romance novels?"

Okay stay with me...and now read this except from "Wild at Heart, Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul" 

What would Robin Hood or King Arthur be without the woman they love?  Lonely men fighting lonely battles.  Indiana Jones and James Bond just wouldn't be the same without a beauty at their side, and inevitably they must fight for her.  You see, it's not just that a man needs a battle to fight; he needs someone to fight for.  Remember Nehemiah's words to the few brave souls defending a wall-less Jerusalem?  "Don't be afraid. . . fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."  The battle itself is never enough; a man yearns for romance.  It's not enough to be a hero; it's that he is a hero to someone in particular, to the woman he loves.  Adam was given the wind and the sea, the horse and the hawk, but as God himself said, things were just not right until there was Eve.  Yes, there is something passionate in the heart of every man.

We are different for a reason.  God created Adam and Eve at different times and in different ways.  He made them to compliment each other, not to be an exact replica of the other. Men and women each bring something so unique to a relationship.  If you were to search deep into your heart of hearts I believe that you would agree with me.  I believe that every woman wants to be saved and that every man wants to save her.  

In this season of my life it's nice to be reminded of these things.  It's nice to remember that God has a really big adventure planned for my life that includes this very "rescue scene"  

Ladies...don't sell yourself short.  Wait for the guy that is going to pursue you.  You are a princess, you deserve to be pursued

Guys...take the lead in pursuing her.  God will give you the tools you need to fight for your princess's heart

3 comments:

Evan Flora said...

wow Linda, incredible post! great job!

Alex Stenman said...

Fresh post! speaking the truth manders!

JORDAN VS HOLLYWOOD said...

i agree with them and the colors make me happy!