Honed

" As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another" Proverbs 27:17

I spent a few hours with Addison's Dad yesterday afternoon, discussing the course of the march: the beginning point, the end point, and the various rest points along the way. He is as fine a man as is his son; you can see by both parents the type man Addison has become. Addison and I spent about fifteen minutes together, looking over the map and making comments. He is a man in the spring of his youth, I am meeting my fall.

As I left his house, I began to question why is his cure so important to me. He is not my son, yet he is; he is not my friend, yet he is; he is not my peer, yet he is. He is the type of young man I would want to be, if I had to live my life over again. He has a quiet strength, yet he is not afraid to let his thoughts known. He has a sense of humor, but he does not inflict harm. He can lead, but he knows how to follow orders. He does not seek your sympathy, but he will get your respect. That is the type of man you want to work for; that is the type of man you strive to be.

When coach, I try to read eyes; if you see understanding in the eyes of your men, understanding without fear, they will go where you lead them. If there is a lack of understanding, and or fear, they can go nowhere. They cannot lead or follow, they are paralyzed.

That is what my eyes must reflect when looked into by God; I have been paralyzed by my current life. I have been afraid to go one way, and fearful to go the other. I never had to worry about this with Addison, when I looked into his eyes there was trust and understanding. I think, in some way, I was sharpening him.

He does not know it, but now Addison is sharpening me. His iron, his strength, through this ordeal, is sharpening me. By this march, now it is my turn to sharpen him, if only in a small way. He will not know the keen edge he has honed on me, nor will I know what type of edge I have helped him shape, but based on the time spent with his Dad yesterday, Addison is already razor sharp; "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another".