Follow the Leader

*this blog was written from observation, not from any current situations* Enjoy!

I am a soccer player, a.k.a. football player. I’ve spent many years on the soccer field – many nights at practice – and many weekends on the road. Soccer is an amazing sport. It requires skill, fitness and a bunch of teamwork. In July, I was able to go down to St. Lucia to help with a soccer camp. We had over 300 kids from ages 8-18 with a wide range of skills. Their passion for the sport and their desire to learn was incredible. We were able to teach them new skills which they then put into practice during our scrimmages. On the last day of camp, we had warm ups and I led them in something which we call Follow the Leader.

It’s a simple thing.
The leader does something and watch this
–you follow –
incredible huh?
things like touch the ground, jump, high knees, etc.
All you need to do is watch or listen to the leader and then do what he does.

Transitioning into our roles as men in a tough generation. It is very difficult as a male in our society and culture to truly be the leader. The women’s rights movement hasn’t really helped our cause.
We have women in school getting degrees

-out working trying to compete on salaries-

doing everything they can to make us equal.

All of which are great things and I applaud you ladies for wanting to make something of yourselves but in doing that, you make it really hard on us guys.

We want to be the leaders that you need and desire. We want to be the breadwinner.
We want to wear the pants in the relationship. We want to be able to provide for you. We want you to have the life that you have always dreamed of. We want you to feel loved all the time. We want you to feel cared for always.

But we are not perfect. We make mistakes and we will continue to make mistakes. It’s hard. It’s a huge responsibility to be the leader. We can’t lead ourselves, let alone someone else. We aren’t always going to have the right answer for you or the right thing to say. We aren't always going to provide the best life for you. This life will have its ups and downs. It will be tough. But please know that if we have made that commitment to you then we still feel the same way that we did for you at the beginning, probably more.

We are, however, trying.
We want to be able to lead and give you everything.
-BUT-

We need you to be come along side of us and be flexible with us.

Help us out.
Allow us to lead and make it a team.

Dont make it a competition.
Respect the things that we may choose or decide upon.

Always remember that we are looking out for you more than ourselves.

You are our prized possession.
We will do anything for you.

We love you.

Ephesians 5:22-28
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.