.Dear Larue
A few thoughts on manhood
The boy does as he wishes
The man does as he should
The boy needs protecting
The man protects
The boy has others to provide for his needs
The man provides for the needs of others
The boy cries and needs held
The man holds back his tears and holds the boy
The boy would help his mother
The man would die for her
The boy may battle a bully
The man must fight the world for the sake of his family
The boy asks “Can it be done?”
The man says “I will do it because it must be done”
The man must bear his own grief, his own sorrow, his own disillusionments, and still be strong enough to carry his family through the trial as well
The man will seek the help of others, but will never hand over his responsibilities to anyone else
The man will seek advice but will never shirk making a decision
The man will accept the consequences of his action
The man must be his wife’s prince and his children’s hero
The man strives to keep chivalry alive in a world that mocks him for it
The man must be faithful to his wife with his eyes, mind, and heart
The man’s family seldom appreciates him, his church criticizes him, his culture mocks him, yet he strives with his last breath to make these institutions work
There could be no full time mom’s if not for men with full time jobs
Being an adult does not make a boy into a man, it is a decision and a lifestyle of responsibility
The man realizes he cannot be all he needs to be so he calls on God to be his help
In the classic western “Magnificent Seven” gunfighter Renaldo Riley tells some village children, “You think I am brave because I carry a gun? Your fathers are much braver because they carry responsibility, for you and your mothers. And this responsibility is like a giant rock, it weights them down and crushes them, and there is nobody that says they have to do this, they do it because they want to and they love you. I have never had this kind of courage.”
But a real man does.
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