So it is official, I am a daddy. I never thought that I would actually like the name “daddy” but it sticks pretty well. The birth of Marcus was amazing and frightening at the same time. Amazing because the sight of a new life coming into the world is amazing, but frightening because for the first I realized as I held this little life in my hands that I have to take care of this new being. There is no turning back, no opting out, all there is to now is go forward.
Like so many fathers before me I desperately want to be a great father, but the odds seem so stacked against this notion. There are so many things that are fighting for the attention of men these days. Work, education, church, TV., hanging out with friends, it all competes for time and affections. What about what truly matters?
Take heart men, we are the warriors of our families. We are the one that MUST stand firm in the fry. We need to step into the battle with our swords held high and our guns blazing for we must fight for our families hearts. God put us in charge of this group of people we know as our families. We are the warriors.
However, Men we need to WAKE UP! To often our wives pick up our battle gear and race onto the field for us simply because we would rather sit in our proverbial easy chairs and watch the world flash by on the TV screen. We have to be the leaders of our families not the ones sitting on the sidelines.
God created us will a flame in our hearts for adventure, and bravery, but we have traded in that adventure for someone else's adventure. I can tell you that I have found myself more than once acting as if I am the bravest hunter in the world, or the avid camper that withstand anything, but the truth is I am a shell of a man when it comes to those things. I like to hunt and camp, but I'm not an expert, I am still not crazy about gutting a deer.
I talk other men as if I know what they are talking about as they talk about cars and shooting a ten point buck when in reality I could care less if a guy just drove by in a souped up 57 Chevy.
I want you to know that what I am writing is more to me than any other person who might happen to read this. I need this little speech I am giving more than most of the men I know.
So how can we as men get past this outer shell and let people see who we really are? We have to be honest with ourselves and realize that we can be who we are, we don't need to be someone else. I have been trying to be someone else my whole life and it just isn't worth it. I tend to find someone I look up to and try to do things the way I think they would do it. This only thickens the sell of who I am.
Stand with me and together we can crack the shell that is keeping us from the life that God wants for us.
