The 16 year rite of passage is the third and final rite of passage, and the most important. This all started when my brother and I and a good friend of ours went hiking the Appalachian Trail before our friend's wedding. We hiked and hiked and hiked, and talked and fasted for a day, and saw an amazing waterfall, and broke the fast at McDonald's buying every burger on the menu. It is something that the three of us look back on a lot. For my brother and I it was our rite of passage. I wanted my sons to have a similar experience so that's what started me thinking. . . So when he turns 16 my eldest son knows he gets to go on his mountain hike. He knows that he gets to have some other important men in his life go with him. He knows that we will fast for one whole day. He also knows that after this hike he will be a man. He knows that is the turning point. Throughout these rites of passage our kids have had more privileges and more responsibilities. We also want this time to be a time when our sons can be around men and get advice and wisdom from men who have lived as a man for many combined years, and to be prayed for. During that day of fasting we will all be praying for him.
With my daughter I thought that it would be good to have a similar experience, but with women. I have not totally thought all this through, but hopefully we will be able to have a weekend or a week where she and the important women in her life can go to where she wants to go (beach, mountains, etc), and spend time in much the same way, praying for her and talking to her about being a woman. We want her to know that she is a woman, and to see the privileges and responsibilities. I also have planned to take her on a fancy date to a very fancy restaurant and some kind of symphony or concert. Hopefully Les Mis will be playing then.
This are some of the ideas regarding our rites of passage. I have not written all of them.
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