KPIC recently held an all-night prayer meeting. Sometime between the 2AM muffin break and fighting the 4AM sleepys, my mind wandered around the differences between men and boys.
I thought back to my early days as a teenager and wide-eyed christian. I was 16 years old, my parents were in the midst of a divorce and separated, and I was hungry for a safe place. I could not articulate this at the time, of course. But now, looking back, I know that is what it was. There were a few good men who took time to encourage me and teach me. I would show up at their doors, unannounced and uninvited, and (to borrow a phrase from my friend Kate) "insert myself into their life". They would stop whatever it was they were doing and talk and listen. It was great - for me. Now, as an adult, I realize what an inconvenience this was for them. Two of them were married, one had kids of his own - but yet they never made me feel that I was intruding. They created a safe place for me.
Men create safe places. They take responsibility for those around them. They defend, encourage, lead and love those in their care. They are not passive.
Those men for me were Jeff Campbell, Tad Taylor and Bill Perry. Thanks guys for creating a safe place for me at such a crucial time in my life.
