Struggles Through The Decades

At first when I was a little unsure when asked to be on this show.  I have done television interviews before but never been on a show aimed exclusively at women. However, the subject matter and the panel were both intriguing, so I was glad to participate.

Pretty much my whole life, I have been the young guy. I graduated high school at age 16 and university at 21, and then was always the youngster of the Young Life staff. For most of my life, I have never thought of myself as the old guy. Thus, to be on a panel where I clearly represented the oldest decade was both humorous and a brutal reality. I have worked with young people for my entire career and so have always felt youthful. This panel was a nice reminder that as youthful as I may feel, the numbers don’t lie.

A highlight of the time was knowing three of the four men up there. It was fun to share the experience with Theo (a friend of my son from college) and Matt, the pastor of my church. It was also great to meet Shawn. 

The topic: “Men’s struggles through the Decades” was meaningful. We had no rehearsal or opportunity to compare stories. I found myself listening to the struggles from these men in their respective decades and remembering my own struggles with those exact issues during those years. The enjoyment for me was in recognizing how God has led me throughout the decades and how He navigated me through those respective pits and valleys. I did find myself remembering the scripture “Nothing is new under the sun.”

Melinda asked us to speak into each other’s lives and decades. It was meaningful to be able to speak into  Theo’s life and likewise, for him to offer me words of encouragement as I enter the back nine! I am looking forward to all that God continues to have in store for me.

David Thakkar is the Vice President of Young Life Canada, Field Operations