Yesterday, My son Mason turned 13.  This age is a big deal, because it marks the teenage years, and in most cultures, it’s the day a boy becomes a man.  I wonder how many teenagers would make wiser decisions if they knew they were a man and didn’t have to prove it by doing something stupid or immoral (or both).   Having said that, we decided to have a rite of passage ceremony at the beach.  I invited men that Mason looks up to and none of his friends, so that it was all about Mason’s rite of passage, and not seeing his friends.

Here’s how it went down:

7:30 PM Sunday Night:  Mason is “jumped” in his house, by two staff members.  They throw a pillow sham over his head and throw him in a van with loud music, and drive him to the beach.  (He absolutely loved this, and didn’t know it was coming!)  They also made him do 100 push-ups in the van on the way.

8:00 PM  Mason is led out of the van, to find he’s on the beach with a bunch of men he knows, including me (his dad) and his grandfather and uncle.

At this point everyone cheers for him, and I challenge him to more push ups, because a physical challenge is always a part of the rite of passage.  He finishes his next round (25, which is hard at one time if you just did 100!)  Then I explain to him the Wisdom Walk.

The Wisdom Walk is where different men walk with Mason from the bonfire to a dune with a valley in it, we called the “valley of manhood.”  On the walk, the men shared a word of wisdom with him, then watched him shoot an arrow in a target set up for him (see Psalm 127:3-4), and prayed with him.

I walked with Mason first, and explained the wisdom walk.  We weren’t there 5 minutes before we were both crying, as I told him how much I approved of him, believed in him, and shared that he is destined for greatness (I’ve told him that his whole life).

Then I prayed with him.  On the walk back, he said “dad, can we slow down?  I want this to last.”  That’s when I knew this was going to be special. 

Mason did the wisdom walk with all the men, and in between each walk he would eat a hot dog from the grill, and then go on another walk.  He also got to shoot a gun (it was legal). 

Then, after almost all wisdom walks were done, two friends began to beat drums (very tribal!) while we all put war paint on.  The best was watching my 74 year old father with war paint!  Then we shaved Mason’s head (back only) with drums beating and all the guys hooping and hollering, while someone else added war paint all over his face, chest, and arms.  Then he went on another wisdom walk with his uncle, who talked to him about facing his fears. 

After this, he was led to the ocean, with a challenge.  Follow the line (a rope) and bring back what’s on the other end of it.  Please imagine being 13 years old and walking into the ocean at night, alone.  Then go out 60 feet!  His uncle went out to encourage him, and Mason brought back an anchor. 

As Mason came out of the ocean, we cheered for him as we knew by the look on his face, that he had just faced a tremendous fear!  Then I talked to him about becoming a man.  After this, I had Mason repeat a pledge to me that I wrote for him. 

I’ll post the pledge and what happened from this point forward, tomorrow.