The Long Way Up

I have a lot to get off my chest about parents and parenting. A lot! My perspective and opinions, however, do not emanate from a firsthand experience of raising biological children, as I am not a biological father... yet. The beliefs and principles that I espouse about parenting come from another vantage point: the broken children at the receiving end of parenting gone wrong. As an introduction into this series of articles on parenting  that I have been desiring to write since last year, I want to issue these preambles in the interest of making my intentions clear, and my motives evident. (1) I AM NOT A BIOLOGICAL PARENT God only knows how daunting and challenging the task parents are faced with when they have kids, and when said kids grow up and start having minds of their own. These articles are not experiential from the point of view of a father or a mother, but they are experiential from the point of view of a son who grew up watching (and later on, learning from) ...

I'm still really astounded how some "believers" do not see nor understand the value of patiently waiting for the fulfillment of God's sovereign plan in and for the affairs of human beings. In the course of the last month and a half, I have repeatedly shared with different circles of my family and friends the story of how God orchestrated the events of my life that led me to the point of asking one of my best friends to become my girlfriend. In each telling of the narrative, I have emphasized the fact that we were first and foremost really good friends for about 16 years, and that the last three of those years were seasons of watching over our friendship, evaluating my attraction to her, contemplating a possible relationship with her, and praying to God for guidance through my emotions and in my decisions. Time and patience were always key elements in the story I was telling; that regardless of my chronological age and the level of my spiritual maturity,...

I don't have tricks and Valentine surprise But what I have for you I'll publicize These ten and four are things I love in you Here's hoping you'll appreciate them, too 1 You have a way with words that's so unique I hear it in your voice each time you speak From random daily things to grandest schemes To talking about God and online memes 2 And then you have a way with written words You put a heart to nouns and chosen verbs The way you paint scenarios in prose The style you use in every one of those 3 I love how you adjust to what may come You flex and shift to people, and then some Adapting to what's needed at the time But still yourself enough to call you mine 4 And then, there's you who overcame the mess The one who grew resilient through stress The challenges you faced emboldened you Renewed your mind, and made you stronger, too 5 I am a fan of your persistent dreams Of conquering the worl...

Intricate Like spider webs spun Between two majestic oaks Line upon line, crisscrossing Matching, missing, imploding Tangential, incidental, intentional Connections made on sticky words Fluid moments and movements Complicated Into the eye, enter the storm A calm is found buried beneath the clouds In raging tempest solace is found And light and shadows mingle It works, it dazzles and mystifies Not everything makes sense But all is comprehensible Simple You choose it or you lose it That's really all there is When rains pour on the cobwebs Hold on tightly and love on brightly When sun is shining, beaming Embrace the rays, bask in it Life still goes on, go onward Profound Quell curiosity to find more questions Give all you have to gain everything Nothing is lost in vulnerable state Except our rusty shields But swords exchanged to sharpen both Each one, the other's pledged patrol This is here, this is now, this is it

A shy, scrawny boy sits isolated on one of the benches facing the soccer field of an all-boys' school. He is insecure about himself and uncertain about his life. He is eleven. He is quiet and quite reserved, kept to himself, and tried to attract as little attention as he could. He isn't like the other boys. He didn't care about being the leader of the pack; the Alpha male. He didn't care about being the strongest in the class. He didn't even care about being the smartest either. He just wanted to go through secondary school unnoticed. However, noticed was exactly what he got. It only took one judgmental thought verbalized into one careless statement from one clueless teenager to form one lasting effect on this shy boy's life: "Hey, faggot!" And just like that, a reputation was born. Reputation: ...the common opinion that people have about someone or something;  ...the way in which peop...