Forgotten Boys

I will never forget the day that we found out that our second child was going to be a BOY! We were so excited that the Helgren name would carry on! Being the only boy and the middle child is sometimes a challenge for Easton, but he rocks his position as big and little brother quite well! He's always there when I need him to pick up the fish after it has jumped out of the tank or helping me change the flat tire on our van. He's so precious and always willing to help his Mama out. And he loves his sisters and will do what he can to protect them.

I think that the thing that has really broken my heart, as the mama of a boy, about our society is that our boys are being pushed aside and almost forgotten. Recently, I was looking for a book to teach my Tween girl about growing up. Sadly, as I scanned the shelf there were only two books about raising boys. My heart sank. I have seen how culture and movies portray men and boys and they are either the bullies or the enemies in many cases. They are weak and manipulated by girls. This makes me so uneasy inside because I know that the role of a man is to be the leader in his family. It seems as if the pendulum has shifted so much in our culture that men are seen as doormats and are being pushed aside in order that girls and women may be more empowered.

The Bible is so clear about the role of a man and a woman. The man is to be the leader of the family and to guide his family in God's truths. Women are to walk side by side with their husband in order to demonstrate a godly relationship to their children and the world around them. But why is it that one sex always has to be portrayed as the evil or lesser one? God created all people equal, male and female; black and white; Jew and Greek.

If we look at Scripture we see that God used little boys to do amazing things for Him!

Samuel

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent. 

 1 Samuel 3:1

Unnamed Boy

"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?"  

John 6:9

Isaac

But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 

Genesis 17:19

David

When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance.

1 Samuel 17:42

God used these young men to change the world! (Yes, He used women too!)  As Christians, may we we be challenged to nurture the wonderful characteristics of our boys! We must encourage them to play, build, compete, get dirty, wrestle (preferably not on concrete), love, and be free to be who God created them to be! You never know who they will grow up to be!