As I've aged, I've found my priorities changing. I find myself wanting richer, deeper, more intimate relationships with my family and friends. A
man speaking about relationships? Yes indeed. Like women, men have a primal need for closeness. God created us for relationships. As we men age, we discover that we're not only getting older. We are moving from competition to connecting. Before she died, Becky did most of the connecting with our kids on an emotional level. But as I've come into my own as a widower, I've come to realize that emotionally connecting with my kids and grandkids is deeply enriching. One of the things my loss of Becky did for me was to make me value and cherish my family more. I've also noticed that to love others correctly we must first love ourselves. The self must first be strong and whole before we can offer true and lasting love to others. Love is a positive sum game where both sides can and should win.
As I look forward to the winter of my life (how did it arrive so quickly?), I want to be a man who joins the "I" to the "we," whether that's in my family, my church, my profession, my mission work, and even my hobbies. Every healthy relationship makes an honest attempt to marry the "me" with the "we."
Thanks for reading.
