Being A Mom To A Boy...

This blog may not settle on many hearts and minds in a happy or agreeable manner, but I have to put my heart on paper and pray for change.

On August 18, 2006, I was honored with the arrival of our first son, Easton. I had no idea what kind of adventures awaited my life when this little boy came into the world. Everyone always told me that boys were so much different than girls, soon I believed them.

Boys are so different than girls and they are so amazing and precious in their own ways. My Easton, lives with a football in his hands or a receiving glove on his hand. He is always ready to play football, soccer, run, jump on the trampoline, or build a fort. He loves to read, play board games, and most of all he loves to serve others and wants others to be happy. He does love to push the boundaries and prank his Mama every once in a while, to which I nod, smile, and appreciate his creative ways that he shows he loves me.

My daughters are special too. The way that they love and the things that they love are just as admirable. But these thoughts are about my boy child.

As a Mama of a boy, I am troubled. I am saddened. I am frustrated. I am confused.
Recently, I was trying to find a good book series in a Christian book store for boys. The selection was very slim and it bothered me. As a family, (due to the nature of our mission experience) we do not read Harry Potter books, so that is not an option for my son. Then I began to think about new animated films about boys or targeted at boys and all I could come up with were "Up", "Cars", "How To Train Your Dragon", "Kung Fu Panda". Then I thought about the animated movies about girls or targeted at girls and I was even more sad for the lack of focus and entertainment focused on boys. Then it dawned on me that really the only branch of entertainment that is truly boy focused is video games. So, I thought about TV shows, what TV series has a leading male role where he is the leader and not co-leading with a woman? What show allows a man to be a man without being made fun of or being made to seem foolish and ignorant? (Then I remembered why I really only watch British shows. Sherlock. Doctor Who, etc.) Even sports are inundated with women, women half dressed and provocatively dressed. That makes it hard to teach him to be pure and to turn his eyes.

I then turned my attention to the church and thought about what programs or Bible studies are written for boys. Upward. And back in the day RAs or Royal Ambassadors. And a book by Dannah Gresh, John Luke Robertson and a Knight series. Now, I was on the verge of crying for my boy. The church is a woman's place. What is there for boys and men? My husband has struggled to plug into the church because the only thing for men seem to be an occasional men's breakfast and a fish fry.

Why are we alienating men and boys? Why has our society made women so much more valuable and important? God created men to lead. God created them to be the spiritual leaders of our homes and for women to be their help meet. They are being pushed aside by feminism and women's rights. I am sad. I love my father, husband, and son so much and I want them to see their worth and feel valuable by society like I do!

I am a woman. I am pro-life. I am woman that is proud of who God created me to be. I am a woman that is proud of the role that God intended for men. What will this society look like in 10 years when my son is 20 and he is trying to get a job? Will he be able to succeed or will he be the minority? Why can't we value women and men equally?

Women, I challenge you not to push your men to the side and make them feel like they are inferior but praise them, encourage them and challenge them to be who God created them to be. Champion their manliness. Men like to be loud, crazy, and have some fun....and that's okay. Boys push boundaries, get dirty, sometimes break important valuable items, love them anyway it is just stuff. I want to start a movement to encourage boys to be boys and to love who they are in Christ Jesus. I want them to know that the church is not alienating them, they are valuable. May we as women make a concerted effort to see the gifts and talents God has given the men in our lives and champion those gifts. Men have more uses than keeping the yard, taking out the trash, and moving heavy objects. They have a heart, emotions, dreams, and desires, but do we take the time to nurture those things as wives and mothers?

My heart is saddened, but I know that God is bigger. I desire that our society will begin to focus on our men a little more than what they are right now. God made each and every person with an amazing mind and remarkable gifts, now it is up to us to see those things and value them.