New Little Brother

Before anyone freaks out, no, my 50+-year-old parents are not having a baby.

Yesterday I met my “little brother” Tyler as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor program. Our meeting yesterday couldn’t have gone better. BBBS did a great job matching us. Even though he is only 8, we actually have a lot of similar interests. He’s into all the normal stuff like football, baseball, and basketball, but he also likes to draw, do science experiments and really wants to learn how to snowboard. BBBS also organizes lots of great events so you don’t have to work too hard to find things to do with your Little.

The main reason Tyler’s mom, who seems really nice but is kind of young, wants him to be involved in this program is to have some positive male influence. His dad wasn’t around at all for a while and has just recently started to be a little involved with Tyler again. The only guy he really looks up to is his mom’s brother, who is now in jail.

I think this is a very similar situation to what happens to lots of boys growing up in Baltimore without fathers. They’re good kids to begin with and might even have a really good mother, but they still crave that attention and acceptance from an older male. They need to validate to themselves that they are in fact a man, and the only place to find that is on the corner.

Now, I’m not going to say that I’m going to single-handedly save this kid and totally change his life, but maybe me just hanging out with him, showing him that I care, and letting him experience what is available to him outside of his neighborhood, will be enough for Tyler to realize that he doesn’t need to fall into the trappings that many of his peers will. And maybe God’s put me in this situation to do something meaningful for this one kid.

Have you ever had that feeling that you are doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing? This has been somewhat of a long process, but while driving home last night I really had a sense that this is going to be a very meaningful, important experience. I have to remind myself a lot that things happen on God’s schedule, not mine. I want everything to happen right away, but life needs to happen how and when it’s meant to happen.

Friday shout outs:

Today is my good friend Paul Dorsey’s 25th birthday. If you see us out tonight, be sure to holler.

I’ve got to give a shout out to the kind folks at Coffee With T. I took a slightly different route to work this morning and found this gem of a place on Stevenson Road. The people working there were really nice and their food is outstanding. Nothing makes a Friday morning better than a Zeke’s coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

Also, shout at to Jenee at BBBS for getting Tyler and me all set up.

Like I said, I’ll be out on the town this evening celebrating with Paul and his friends. Come say hi.