Let a bird loose, and if it belongs to you, it will return

A whole bunch of things roll together or relate in this package.

We WANT to return to the Lord because we love Him - IF we have learned to love Him and felt His love. It's not force that does it. He is not about force.

A highly Dominant person (investigate "DISE") wants lots of room to explore and make his own decisions - don't you dare interfere. Paradoxically, that same person exercises a lot of minute control of others - including family members. Do this, don't do that, why did you do it (challenge question).

A person grows by exploring and questioning. He becomes stronger, if he has been taught by (and adheres to/loves) the correct principles. A sheltered, overly controlled kid doesn't grow.

Every man, woman, and child of us is a leader, or should be, in the true principles of leadership (not = bossing). I like how Covey developes it in the 8th habit; a very worth while read. There is also the Leadership Pill by Muchnick (not known to be related to my wife). We should find our own voice, but we should provide encouragement to others to excel, be their best, explore, experience, have opportunities to lead and be challenged, learn and grow. This is about being an agent of God in helping life-long, eternal progress.

It is not good policy to talk about an x spouse, but here the point I want to make is easier to illustrate if I do. You will see.

(Oh, her favorite bird: she imagined herself an eagle.)

My x told me of how she got her daughter "GV" into BYU. [Nickname changed to protect the innocent. The BYU result was positive, and GV became a truely outstanding woman married to a fantastic and wise man (two terms as Bishop). My x also told me of GV's father and GV used to set on GV's bed, just talking about things. It bored my x. After my x and GV's father divorced, GV and her father were estranged for some years due to the divorce environment, a sad thing for me to see.

The father, now deceased, was not a church member, not religious.

I remember exactly where I was standing (funny, these memories) when I received a call from the father who seemed a bit concerned about the lack of relationship with his daughter and was open enough to ask. I told him that he, sitting on her bed, taught her to think. So GV learned to think of things. She went to BYU, which he wasn't happy about, and had her thoughts expanded. He was a valuable part of her becoming a fantastic person who accomplished/probably accomplishes a lot for betterment of mankind.

Those two were mad at me for talking to him. But I gave the father CONFIDENCE ENOUGH in his value to her, to reach out to GV in spite of things, and they did have some great visits back and forth after that before he died.

The bird returned.

There are times that you have to do what is right and let the consequences follow; honesty before loyalty, truth before tradition, doing what's right before comfort. I am forever glad that I talked to him.

So what kind of bird are you? Soaring is wonderful.