i don’t know how i got here but somehow here i am—a man.

oh, sure. i know the basics about how i actually came into this world. (i do have three kids, i know how this works), but i’m not sure when that magic moment happened when i instantly went from boy to man.

it certainly didn’t come from impressing anyone on the athletic field. in fact, anytime i pick up a ball or throw anything, i usually entertain more than i impress.

i didn’t come from dating a lot of girls. the actual number of girls i went out with can be counted on two hands, and only one of those was an actual relationship. the others were just dates, someone to hang out with.

it didn’t come from having a cover boy worthy body. i’ve never had a flat stomach. the only “guns” my arms resemble are water guns.

it didn’t come from having a lot of money, driving an ultra cool car, or living in an amazing house.

i always wanted to be “that guy”—the one the girls fall in love with and the guys all wish they were. but it just wasn’t in me.

my inner jock is well, missing. my dad is a good athlete, and so is one of my brothers. all three of my sons are as well, so i guess it’s a recessive gene in my DNA. the girls just never seemed to notice anything in me other than a good friend. the body? well, let’s just say i was definitely a later bloomer. the other stuff? yeah, i’m still waiting on that.

but none of that made me a man. the “if onlys” that i constantly wished would happen weren’t part of my rite of passage. i became a man not through one moment or one achievement, but through a lifetime of decisions. i became a man through one primary relationship—my relationship with Jesus Christ.

i became a man through tough choices, good and bad, of what would shape me, what i would stand for and how i chose to treat others. i became a man not because i got taller or filled out physically, but because of who i decided to follow.

there are a lot of guys out there, chasing hard after being “that guy,” when all along they are making decisions to determine just how much of a man they will be, or how much of a boy they’ll remain.

being a man is a journey. it doesn’t happen overnight. it’s a constantly evolving process. i’m a man, but a man whom God is constantly shaping into the man He wants me to be. i’m a man in process. and i’m more of a man than i ever thought i would be.

contents on this site are ©2014 tim walker. all rights reserved. i would be flattered if you would like to publish this content somewhere. just contact me through this blog.

image courtesy of flickr.com/creative commons