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Flying in formation.

cnystrom

cnystrom

Seasoned Member
Real Person
Male

I have long thought that flying in formation was a good metaphor for marriage.

How do they do it?

1. There is a leader and the rest are followers. If there is no leader you are not flying in formation.

2. Everyone knows where they are going, but the leader leads and the followers have to keep a close eye on the leader. The followers job is to position themselves correctly in relation to the leader.

3. The leader has to call the manuevers so that the followers can expect the movements and react to them accordingly. They communicate constantly as needed.

4. There has to be at least two, but structurally you can add on more.

5. Not easily done. It takes intention and practice.

When done well it is a beautiful thing. They are commonly seen at air shows.

It is also mandatory for safety in aerial combat. Singles are picked off like sitting ducks. You need someone to check your six. No individual has complete vision or situational awareness. But good teams are unbeatable.
 
Love it!!!
 
Very nice! Great analogy!
 
Woww! So incredible!! I love the analogy. Somehow I hadn't come across this thread yet, but Nathan imbedded it in the BF newsletter which I just received for the 1st time. Cynstrom--you've nailed it!
 
Thinking about this some more, our culture trains us to be leaders, never wingmen.
Us guys make lousy wingmen for Yeshua, we want burning bush experiences for each and every change of direction. We have absolutely no intention of keeping our eyes on our leader and reacting to his lead. Radio silence while following him? You gotta be nuts.

Now reread that, replacing “us guys” with “wives” and @Yeshua” with “husbands”. We are all in the same boat, we are terrible followers.
 
steve said:
Thinking about this some more, our culture trains us to be leaders, never wingmen.
Us guys make lousy wingmen for Yeshua, we want burning bush experiences for each and every change of direction. We have absolutely no intention of keeping our eyes on our leader and reacting to his lead. Radio silence while following him? You gotta be nuts.

Now reread that, replacing “us guys” with “wives” and @Yeshua” with “husbands”. We are all in the same boat, we are terrible followers.
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Radio silence! That’s great Steve!
 
cnystrom said:
We classic Christians owe a debt to the Mormons for their history and experience of polygamy in this country. It is nice when we can make a contribution back.

One of my favorite Mormon blogs (the one from the family living in the Brown's house) picked this up and re-posted it with a shoutout to Biblical Families:

https://speakingofpolygamy.com/2018/08/15/flying-in-formation/
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EXCELLENT !!! And I agree that its important to recognize the contributions the Mormons have done for the PM cause. Great job in creating a link between the two worlds.

I signed up to follow the blog.
 
This was from one of the “plygs” on the blog

Someone once asked me, “Why would you want to live plural marriage?”

Up to that point I had never really thought of why I would WANT to live the principle of plural marriage, so it caused me to reflect and to ask myself that very question. “Why?”
After thinking about it for some time I came to a conclusion that surprised me: I realized that I wanted to live plural marriage because it would bring out the worst in me.

I know you might be thinking, well why on earth would you want the worst in you brought out?

I’ll tell you…because only when the worst is brought out can I overcome it!

Exactly what I am so impressed with in the idea of Plural Marriage. It doesnt matter if you live it! If you even consider it or study it, it will expose the worst side of you and force you to examine the thoughts and intents of your heart towards others.
 
Verifyveritas76 said:
Exactly what I am so impressed with in the idea of Plural Marriage. It doesnt matter if you live it! If you even consider it or study it, it will expose the worst side of you and force you to examine the thoughts and intents of your heart towards others.
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Agreed. It reminds me of that book by the Harris Brothers - "Do Hard Things". It is hard, but there are great rewards for the effort. Also kind of like SEAL training. :)
 
Verifyveritas76 said:
This was from one of the “plygs” on the blog

Someone once asked me, “Why would you want to live plural marriage?”

Up to that point I had never really thought of why I would WANT to live the principle of plural marriage, so it caused me to reflect and to ask myself that very question. “Why?”
After thinking about it for some time I came to a conclusion that surprised me: I realized that I wanted to live plural marriage because it would bring out the worst in me.

I know you might be thinking, well why on earth would you want the worst in you brought out?

I’ll tell you…because only when the worst is brought out can I overcome it!

Exactly what I am so impressed with in the idea of Plural Marriage. It doesnt matter if you live it! If you even consider it or study it, it will expose the worst side of you and force you to examine the thoughts and intents of your heart towards others.
Click to expand...
If we can not honestly say on our face before the Lord GOD, "Please put your finger on what needs work, please burn out the dross, please conform me to Yeshua's image, please teach me what I don't know, please iron out the wrinkles, please heal my brokenness"--then what are we doing day in and day out with this great salvation so freely given us? Might it be called "playing church"?
 
rejoicinghandmaid said:
If we can not honestly say on our face before the Lord GOD, "Please put your finger on what needs work, please burn out the dross, please conform me to Yeshua's image, please teach me what I don't know, please iron out the wrinkles, please heal my brokenness"--then what are we doing day in and day out with this great salvation so freely given us? Might it be called "playing church"?
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We can say it.
We can even believe that we mean it.
But we can still duck the opportunities for personal growth.
Poly has a brutal way of forcing our worst selves to the surface.
 
steve said:
We can say it.
We can even believe that we mean it.
But we can still duck the opportunities for personal growth.
Poly has a brutal way of forcing our worst selves to the surface.
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Thank you to every one of you who has contributed to this thread. I was about to go do something 'productive,' but I saw that thing from @cnystrom about flying in formation, got hooked because my son is about to start Air Force pilot training, and then quickly recognized the value of the analogy.

@steve's point (building on the ones in posts by @verifyveritas and @rejoicinghandmaid) is so well taken. Even if we never find a new wife for our family, the testing that has occurred in our marriage has blessed Kristin and me beyond measure. That theme seemed to pop up repeatedly at this month's conference . . . and never failed to resonate with both of us. I can't speak for Kristin, but I know I had never before really stopped to recognize that our whole family is far better off because of that dynamic of having been forced to face even some of the worst aspects of ourselves . . . and of our marriage.
 
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