Rites of Passage

All year I've had a sense I need to get away with my oldest son, Boden, during his tenth year to do a hard thing with Godly men who could pour into him words of life.

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21

My friend Dustin DeYoe suggested Hawk Mountain for its epic descent into the valley to cross the Rock River before a climb to the Skyline and ultimate ascent to the Pinnacle.

The Hawk Mountain motto is "whisper in the wild," to enable visitors to both avoid scaring off the visiting raptors and hear nature all around them. It was the perfect metaphor for teaching about the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

Initially I was going to do it with just Bo and I, but decided to invite his two best friends. In the weeks before the trip I instructed the boys to pray for each other and come with some encouragement, some word from the Lord, for each other.

Not too many 10 year olds can build up their friends by commenting on their finer qualities, how God uniquely made them, but I knew if we could start them on that path they'd never forget it.

It was an epic day, a storm rolled in as we crossed the River of Rocks, we found ourselves off path through raw nature, huffed it up the side of the Mountain, had epic views, and wonderful conversation full of wisdom and lots of jokes too.

I think these challenges, ceremonies if you will, these rights of passage, are vital in the formation of a young man of God. I look forward to increasing the challenges with my boys, venturing into the wilderness together, and I'm incredibly blessed to have Godly men in my life to do it together.