Stretched
Theme of the Week: Boys Will Be Men
Thursday, April 30, 2009
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength (Isaiah 40:30-31). Bonus Reading: 1 Samuel 14:1-15
When Landon was 15, we packed my Suburban with day-packs, warm clothes, and climbing gear. Arriving late at the foot of 11,235-foot Mount Hood, we crawled into our sleeping bags. My alarm beeped at midnight. For two hours, by the light of our headlamps, we picked our way up over volcanic rubble. Then, as day broke, we strapped crampons on our boots and roped up for the last thousand feet. In the rarified air, each step took effort. I heard Landon mumble, "I'm too tired to go on."
I could say, "I understand how tough this is, Landon; we can turn around." I could call him a wimp; maybe he'd feel so humiliated he'd keep going. Or I could entice him on and delay a decision. As we rested, I suggested climbing 200 more feet to the crevasse bordering the glacier. He agreed.
At the crevasse we encountered the first climbers coming down. Landon's eyes brightened as they told him we were nearly there. I belayed Landon up on the last 400-foot stretch of ice-encrusted rock. There we stood at the top of Oregon State, surveying the Cascade Range.
As we slid down the glacier, braking with our ice axes, Landon said, "Dad, thanks for pushing me. I'm so glad I did it."
—Don Otis in Whisker Rubs
My Response: What opportunities to overcome obstacles are building my children's confidence for succeeding in life?
Adapted from Whisker Rubs (AMG Publishers, 2007) by permission.
Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Help me, Lord, to model a true masculinity that spurs the young on to achieve without making my loving acceptance of them conditional.
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