Each year our church sends a group of middle and high school students and chaperons to Eagle Eyrie, a retreat center in Lynchburg, VA. I went last year as a chaperon, and even though it took a few days to recover from the lack of sleep, I agreed to go again this year. This year there were about 60 of us spread out over three different houses.
This year's theme was Ka-Pow. We were encouraged by Joe Torrence to cast aside our labels and be the super heroes we were made to be. Joe is an excellent speaker and really has a passion for today's youth. he knows how to speak to their level and into hearts.
What moved me this weekend was not anything Joe said, as anointed as he is. It was not any song sung or skit performed. What had me balling like a new born was what I saw among our youth. When one was overcome with emotion, they were surrounded, instantly, by their peers. High school boys were wrapping their arms around middle school boys who were openly sobbing. There was no judgment. There was no laughing. There was only compassion and caring and love, not words you usually associate with boys of that age.
This gave me hope. But it also gave me cause to think. How do we keep this going? How do we get these young men to continue showing love to their male friends? How do we foster a culture that makes this normal and not weird?
I don't have all the answers, but it starts with the men in their lives. Once these men feel free to cry, to hug and just feel, then maybe these boys will grow to be men whose hearts are more visible and open and not barricaded behind a wall of machismo.
Photo credits: Allie Reed
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