Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Gift.... and a new song...


There is a gift which I believe can only be given from one man to another. This gift was designed to be passed down from father to son, from one man to one becoming a man. This gift is more valuable and powerful than gold or fame. This gift alone can prepare and enable a young man to be the man he was intended to be.

Somewhere along the way, sometimes the gift is lost, and the transfer does not occur - perhaps because the father does not realize what the gift is, and its importance, or perhaps the father cannot give what he has never received nor possessed. Perhaps tension and distance between the father and son, or absence of the father, have made the giving of the gift impossible.

Yet, sometimes in these circumstances, another man is sent - one who understands and appreciates the gift, and values the young man. He invests his time and energy into making sure the gift is received and is securely held by the young man, for he understands that without the gift, the young man will never be the man he was intended to be, and his destiny will be aborted.

What might this gift be? The gift is the understanding and confidence to know that he has all that he needs within him to be the man he was created to be - he lacks nothing... you see, it takes a man to know a man... to be able to see within him the man he is to become and to reach in and begin to pull it out, so that the young man can see... and then the blessing of this gift having been given to him, can turn to approach his future, his life, and everything in it, as a man - no longer a boy, now strong and wild at heart, whole and free from wounds and the past, set free to know that he can succeed, that he is accepted and loved by one who welcomes him heartily into the brotherhood of Men... he has been given the gift of manhood - the title of "Man" has been bestowed and imprinted on his life, and he is forever changed.

And he heads bravely, head held high, into his future, giving the gift to those who he encounters along the way who have yet to receive it. Confident in his identity, he invests and risks, extending the strong hand of fellowship and love, to bring yet another young man into the brotherhood. Fathers, let us be such men, giving this gift to our sons. Brothers, let us extend the gift to those who have not yet been so fortunate to receive it by their own father's hand, and let us all remember that there is one great Father, who is father of us all...

The Gift...

Day by day, I watch you

I see the choices that you make
The things you make priority
and the paths you choose to take


I'm affected by your passion

and infected by your joy

You'll never know the impression you made

on me since I was just a boy

You were there at key transitions

And as I grew from boy to man

Someone was watching us
It was all part of His plan


You were there for me, accepting

Seeing the man that I would be
When no one else took the time

You shared your life with me

As we rowed across the water

and we talked for hours on end
You listened and you shared with me
and became my closest friend


As we walked through the forest

each sharing from our heart
Your words brought clarity and healing

to my life, in every part

You were always there for me

in the moments in my youth
When the choices mattered most

when I needed to hear the truth

And you invested deep in me

giving me the gift of time

Even when your life was busy
you would be a part of mine


So I thank you, my friend and father

though I was not born to you
You've impacted me so deeply
through the things you chose to do

I've taken your example

and invested in those I see

I have loved and accepted
In the same way you cared for me

I appreciate it more now

how you prepared me to be a man

And I sense that He is very pleased
It was all part of His plan

So perhaps the gift of manhood

is only passed from man to man

And each of us who receives it
should take the time to understand


That we bear a wonderful burden

to take the gift we have and share
Passing it on to generations
Letting them know how much we care


Giving confidence that they possess

everything that they will need
To be the man they were made to be

to be fully prepared to succeed


As one who was given this gift through you

I want to express my joy
For you showed me how to look and see
the man within this boy

(C) JAD, 2008.

For Ritchie Mullen, with eternal gratitude...

8 comments:

GypsiAdventure said...

How touching...I'm not a man, obviously I cannot relate on that level, but I believe having someone who inspires in us the belief that we can be whom we are meant to be is definitely a gift and much more a blessing.

Thanks for sharing!
~K

AutoSysGene said...

As always your writing is truly beautiful. You have a real gift!

Anonymous said...

Very well said. I understand what you are writing about because I have watched my husband be all that for my son, even though his own father did not know how to give that gift to him.

Kim from Kansas said...

Is Ritchie still alive? This is such a special way to share your gratitude!

Keep on writing. You truly have a God-given talent! Just wish I could hear the music along with it!

Anonymous said...

And what a beautiful gift is is. Great post.

GoteeMan said...

Yes, Ritchie is still alive and well, and we are still in touch... I shared this with him about a week ago.

J/

Claremont First Ward said...

I really enjoyed this. I always sort of think of the things only a mother can pass on to her daughters, not about the things a father can only pass on to his sons.

Jen said...

You are good, very good!!
It's easy to tell you have been touched my a hand that has given you a gift.