Men's Breakfast and Fall Out

This weekend has brought much work. I found myself working three 12 hour shifts in a row. After 4 hours of sleep on Friday night, I found myself waking up at 5 am to drive into the city to join my guys from church in cooking breakfast for the men. It was cold and I was cranky, but something would not let me sleep, even though I had set no alarm and knew that I would have to work the remainder of the day with little rest. As I drove in, under grainy sun light, my mind was restless and I wondered what the day would bring.

Got there early and slowly woke up in the company of my friends as we pitched in and the kitchen came alive with the sights, sounds and smells of men putting their minds to a task in the humorous and diligent way that only guy can. As I looked around the kitchen, I saw all the faces of the people who have invested in my life so heavily these last 5 years. David my mentor, Art a great teacher and example, Marvin with his insane humor and crazy clothes, Gareth from Australia and that voice and smile, Keith and his son, David without his beard now and all the times we have shared, Gerard with his lithesome grace and uncanny wisdom...all the men of my life that make it much richer and real.

The other guys of the church finally dragged in and we ate. It was a simple time as we came together and then spent the next few hours sharing life and examining some interesting things. We had an interesting exercise where we drew our happiest moments and also our moments of great pain. We then went back to those pictures we had all scrawled in our own ways and then attempted to place God in them, where we saw Him. We then all came back together and shared what we cared to with our groups. It was a moving and powerful experience, not just for the exercise, but the the time and space shared in a safe and vulnerable way. I have missed these guys this winter. The Spring and Summer bring the promise of so much more to do together and I am feeling recharged and encouraged in a way I have not felt for months.

Tom announced a new small group that will be meeting for any guys who want to attend where we will attempt to unpack our sexuality in the context of the community, society and its relationship with ourselves spiritually and emotionally. We have such a huge spectrum of guys at my church from the hetero to the homo, married to single, bisexual to divorced and everything in between those spaces. I am interested in checking it out just to see what it is like. This is not a place to try to "fix" ourselves or other people, but rather a safe place to live and dialogue with others what our sexuality is and how it fits into the larger scheme of our life as men. I dunno? I must say I am intrigued by the possibility...

Welp, I have to eat breakfast and get ready for work. My brain isn't awake yet really, but I wanted to jot a few thoughts down here at least, as I have been remiss in blogging and sharing my slice of life with the friends that follow my words here. Enjoy today and GO PACKERS! :)

Daemon