Mating for Life

If you feel the urge, don't be afraid to go on a wild goose chase. What do you think wild geese are for anyway?
Will Rogers

We have a pair of Canada geese dwelling in the wetland behind our house. They have been returning for quite a few years now. The photo to your right is our pair with their new gaggle.

Like most birds, Canada geese are migratory, flying overhead in their familiar V shaped formation. They often fly in family clusters and are known to return to the same breeding ground every year. One goose is always in the lead of the V formation. After time, the goose allows another to take the lead. The head movements of the lead give signals to the others.

In the second year of their life, geese find their mate. Most geese pair stay together all of their lives. If one dies, the remaining goose may find another mate, but have been observed to experience a grieving process. Both parents protect the nest while the eggs incubate. Like the order in flight formation, the goose family is often seen with goslings in a line flanked by one parent in the front and one in the rear.

Canada geese reveal a spirit of unity both in their choice of a mate for life, and in their family and flight formation habit. Unity in the family -- where each member has a specific purpose and they stick together. And unity in the greater body, as evidenced in the flight formation is also observed.

Like the geese, we are at our best when we stick together, as mates, and as families. We are not created to live in isolation and total independence. We are created to be in relationship with one another. It is the natural order. Like the geese, we protect each other, nurture each other, and establish a home and family. Like the geese, we gather as community and share the lead with others and the needs are revealed.

The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate. Isaiah 34:15