September 15

Building Up Ryan


For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to build you up. Not to tear you down.

2 Corinthians 13:10 (NLT)


I don’t know where he gets it—maybe from his grandfathers—but he's got a lot more of it than I. My son has guts. That's right; he ventures onto territory I would fear to tread. Yesterday is a case in point.

After a full week as a new freshman in high school, he told me he had asked the Senior Class President to go to Homecoming with him. Unfortunately, she had made other plans.

Part of me wanted to shout, “What?! What were you thinking?” but that would have been wrong.

Ryan’s outgoing, sanguine personality is his strong suit, and the Lord has given him some thick skin to go with it. Still, he has a tender heart, and the no he received set him back, but what would have really hurt, perhaps even crushed his spirit, would have been for me to judge the fact he listened to his heart and acted boldly.

No, I think what Ryan needs is encouragement to be himself. It’s what a good coach would do—build him up and not tear him down. Still, he might want to work on his timing....


Lord God, thank You for allowing me to be Ryan’s dad. Help me to encourage him in life and in faith. Amen.