So, you wish to test your strength...?

I'll be forty years-old in less than one month. He will turn seventeen in the same space of time. I am twenty pounds over my "ideal weight" (note the last bite of a homemade ice cream cookie sandwich in my left hand). He can bench press 133% of his body weight. I can bench, well... his two year-old brother - and several ice cream cookie sandwiches. He can run faster and farther than me without getting even a little short of breath. I never carry what I can roll, and I get winded walking up the driveway. So what chance do I have competing against this young man in a contest of brute strength and endurance? What advantage could I possibly count in my favor? Only one... guile.


Guile is the great equalizer in battle when one faces an opponent of greater strength and agility. First, I was able to make him laugh, thus breaking his concentration. Then, I duped him into believing I would relent temporarily to allow each of us a chance to "adjust" our grip. When I felt his muscles relax ever-so-slightly, I quickly and decisively pulled his arm (look at the python's on that kid!) down securing my victory. I remain undefeated in these contests, but each time we engage in this test of strength he's harder to beat. One day, inevitably, he will triumph in this age-old contest between father and son. A bitter-sweet day that will be: proud that he has gained such strength, and then the uncomfortable realization that mine is diminishing. I'll be fifty-five when Josiah is seventeen - my arm is beginning to hurt just thinking about it - but what a blessing to have that day to look forward to!!