The girl trembled with fear as the dastardly fellow maintained his hold on her delicate arm. Did he not care that he was bruising her with every jerk of his tightly clutched hand?
He couldn't possibly realize that any minute now her man was going to ride in on his stallion and commence to lay some harm on him.
She knew!
She had spent too many years with this man to doubt that he would waste any time coming to her rescue.
She glanced once more to the distance earnestly searching for some sign that her hero was on his way.
And, yes...there on the horizon a faint trail of dust was raising into the dismal overcast sky. Her heart raced, for she knew that safety and comfort were approaching as fast that powerful horse could carry him.
She recognized the seriousness which the line of his body carried as he leaned forward in the saddle racing headlong into whatever disaster lay ahead.
As usual his gun holster was strapped on his hip but the gun was already drawn ready to defend her.
He raced toward her and her captor with a fierceness about him; which she could tell he kept in check only for her benefit. The beat of the horses hooves came to an abrupt stop as he swiftly pulled up the horse directly in front of them.
Dust swirled and mingled with the heaviness of the impending rain.
With purpose he quickly dropped himself from the saddle to stand looking eye to eye with the man holding his wife. He looked that fellow with his steel blue eyes and commanded with a voice wrought with danger..."Unhand my bride or suffer the consequences!"
The fellow had never before met a man so intent on his conquest so he roughly thrust
the woman toward her man and high tailed it down the near by alley as quickly as he could in hopes that he could race away in time to escape harm. The woman lost her balance, but was swept up into the gentle but firm embrace of her husband as he caught her and saved her from not only falling, but the clutches of a man bent on harm.
Maybe he should have set her upright and then taken off after the fellow, but he didn't...he felt the need to stay right there and comfort her as she recovered her bearings. She swooned a bit, and found herself overwhelmed with thankfulness and love for this man...her protector, her rescuer. She gazed into his eyes, now calm and filled with love and met him for a kiss.
Doesn't this sound familiar from books and movies?
Woman in danger.
Man swoops in for rescue.
Good guy wins, bad guy looses.
Woman adores the man because he was willing to risk life and limb for her.
Don't get me wrong...I am not saying this is a bad scenario.
The drama of it is interesting to read, the action is exciting, the romance is wonderful.
My point today is this...
In our modern world there is not much opportunity for our man to ride in on the stallion and rescue us from the bad guy.
There are no bears to fight to save the smokehouse and stores for the winter.
There are no gunslingers bent on taking our land, or indians out for scalping.
There is no impending war to kiss him off for.
It is just the constant pressures of head into the office, regular monotonous day to day, living in suburbia.
(And I really am talking about no extenuating circumstances here!)
It is my opinion that man is designed to be a rescuer, made to be a protector.
What about this modern city life, go to work at an office and earn a living world that allows him to be a hero?
I worry that we don't see their heroic greatness because it is hidden so neatly in the folds of day to day living.
I submit to you that there are plenty of chances for him to be our hero, we just have to see it as such and be appreciative and loving when he does... and maybe even swoon a bit.
Here is an example.
Right now I am in the clutches of a dastardly fellow!
He is jerking me around and I am looking for my husband to rescue me.
The fellow...my HP office jet 5610. It is an printer. It isn't trying to be a bad guy, but it is not hooked up to the new computer yet and I am distressed and gazing into the distance waiting for some sign of my hero's dust trail.
I am pretty sure that this is not a difficult item to manage, but it is not in my range of capability! So, because of that I cannot scan pictures into the computer to further write about my wedding day saga. Come on... the visuals are important, right? Right!
I know that when I let my husband know of this problem, he will with purpose come eye to eye with this particular issue and solve it in a whirlwind of activity which I will not particularly comprehend. He will get it taken care of and then stand over my shoulder comforting me as I get my bearings and actually scan something to prove it is working correctly.
Did he have to loose his gun from the holster, no.
Did he have to race in on the stallion...well, no not unless driving home in his Hyundai counts. Did he have to threaten to do bodily harm????
uuuhhhh ....now that one I don't know about... we shall see.
But in the end he will have rescued me from the clutches of the bad guy. I think I should swoon! I think I should really let him know how thankful I am that he is my modern day protector, rescuer and hero.
I got to thinking about this last night as I paid attention to the little things my husband did when we were out together.
We were standing in the windblown rain and he stepped behind me to shield me from the worst of it.
He held my half empty water bottle for me for the better part of an hour in case I should need a drink.
We had to exit a shuttle bus and he stepped halfway out then turned to let me pass.
He diligently stood there ready to catch me should I misstep or stumble. (ahhh he knows me well)
He saw that my hair looked a little crazy from the rain and wind and offered me his ball cap. Ok, that one maybe doesn't factor in with the rest, but it did make me laugh when I was weary, so it gets thrown back in the batch.
How many dastardly fellows has my husband rescued me from in the 20 some years we have been together? How many times has he raced in as fast as his trusty stead could carry him to set things straight? How many troubles has he looked right in the eye and sent scurrying away in fear so that I might be safe?
I have a feeling it is way, way more than I have given him notice for. I have a feeling that this man will be heroic as I allow him to be, and I should give him ample opportunity as well as ample acknowledgment when he does.
Just a little something I have been thinking about!
Jennifer, I love this post. My favorite of yours so far! Every day I am so thankful to God for my sweet Justin who fights the evil seventh-graders to provide us with necessities and comforts. How many times I take for granted when he opens doors for me or pauses to experience what he believes is my beauty. God is so good, and I'm thankful for the roles he has given to men and women in a relationship. Thanks for reminding me to thank my hero and swoon at his manliness. :)
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