Tuesday, June 03, 2008

A Chalmers Man


These three men are probably the most important men in my life. They are my family.

My father is there, more happy then you could know to be with his oldest son and grand son at a Braves game. He could careless about baseball, he is a man of joy when surrounded by his family. Should God's mercy prevail, he will have been married to my mother for 59 years in September. 59 years of "withness", 59 years of joy and pain, 59 years of ups and downs, 59 years of parenting and grand-parenting and great grand-parenting, 59 years of success and failure and 59 years of being together as man and wife. I learned more about integrity, honor and the power of hard work from this man by 16 than most men will learn in a lifetime. If I can emulate his faithfulness to family with my life, I will have accomplished much.

My brother is there. He is 11 years my senior and a man of brilliance. He has walked a simple faith through life. He carries with him a limp, the limp of a man who has wrestled with God and left the fight never to be the same. He is a man of strong self discipline and consistency. This fly-by-the seat-of-your-pants younger brother can always learn much from this man.

My nephew is there. He is just beginning to understand what it means to be a Chalmers Man, but already, he exhibits the ability to be a great father. He has walked through the valley of the shadow of death and has emerged knowing that God is with him. He has the muse of an artist and the heart of a poet. May God show him colors and give him words that are now a mystery.

I still struggle with what is means to be a man. It is a mystery I daily talk to God about. There is always the weight of being a husband, father, friend, son, pastor...not a burdensome weight, but a sense of responsibility...that things must be done and said and dreamed. That is always weighed in the balance of life against the eight year old boy inside...he just wants to put on Coppertone, grab a towel , a kite and go out on the beach.

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