Well, David and I finished the Passport 2 Purity material, and managed to have a great time together.
Several times in the course of the more difficult sessions, Dennis Rainey pauses and tells the father and son: “OK. Pause the CD and look at your Dad, and say, “I’m glad that’s over!”
David Triumphant
It was a light-hearted way to break the serious mood, giving us permission to laugh and to take a break from the intensity of subjects which (for many families) are pretty hard to talk about.
We camped near Ocean Shores, within about a quarter mile of the Pacific. We had lovely weather, but it was much cooler on the coast (and in the wind) than it was here at home. Neither of us are particularly experienced campers, but we managed to pitch our tent and build a fire with hardly any serious injuries.
There’s nothing quite like a fire-toasted blueberry bagel for breakfast.
I really enjoyed the updated Passport 2 Purity material. It is frank, engaging, and steeped in a Christian worldview, which I deeply appreciate. I strongly recommend the five sessions (and the weekend getaway that frames it) to any parent of an 11-14 year old child.
Some of the topics were hard to address, but I think we were both glad to get them out ‘on the table’ and to open a dialog that I hope will continue for years to come.
Some of the projects didn’t quite work out as intended, but we persevered.
We waited too long to do this with David, and yet we are also glad that we have done such a good job of protecting his innocence and purity until now — in some sense it is very sobering (and a little scary) to usher him into a knowledge of sexuality that cannot be rolled back.
We spent a lot of time driving around, since it was easier to listen to the sessions when sitting ‘shoulder to shoulder’ rather than facing each other across a CD player. I never seem to tire of driving on the beach — there is something inherently fun about speeding along at 25 mph on the hard sand.
Why yes, this IS my car.
I was so focused on getting the Passport 2 Purity sessions ‘done’ that I was surprised at how fun it was for me to hang out with David for the weekend. He is really excellent company, and we have a lot in common — we laugh at the same silly things, and we think in some of the same ways. We both really relished the experience of camping and the Go Kart racing that we enjoyed on Saturday afternoon. We both like sitting around a campfire and making stuff burn, and playing frisbee in the dark. We are both in awe of the Pacific, while a little afraid of it. Neither of us is very skilled at flying kites.
David had Charlie Brown’s kite, but we managed to get it in the sky, nevertheless.
As I look back at the weekend, I’m so glad that I made the time to do this with my youngest son. It was an experience I expect to remember as one of the highlights of my life.
I think David and I really bonded over the weekend.
At the conclusion of the fifth session, your son or daughter is presented with an opportunity to ‘Make Up Your Mind’ about how they will think about dating and their sexuality for the next several years. I’m excited to see how God will strengthen David and give him the power he will need to keep himself pure until he can offer that purity to his wife, on their wedding day.
We celebrated by eating fish ‘n chips and deep-fried clam strips.
Thank you, David, for sharing this weekend with me, and for keeping your heart open to my teaching and my love.
Project 365, Day 130
Tim
