Today I watched as two boys gathered handfuls of dirt in their hands and then, with gigantic smiles on their faces, raised their arms up in the air and let the dirt sail through their fingers guided by the wind. The wind was so kind as to whip the dirt right into their faces and you know what these two boys did? They stooped down and picked up more handfuls of dirt to repeat the process.
I love this! Boys being boys. Boys enjoying God’s creation as only boys can.
They turn their fistfuls of dirt into weapons and begin to throw it at each other. Any wise mom would step in here and rescue them from their play that is sure to end in tears. But I couldn’t. They were too thrilled with the hunt, with the chase and with the handfuls of dirt that escaped their fingers before they could throw them.
And I stop to think that maybe…just maybe, I should let the boys be boys for a moment. That perhaps God made boys to be just this way. Maybe God, like me, is smiling at their play and rejoicing in their boy-ness.
And then those boys want swords and guns to fight battles with each other. They grow and their muscles can’t get big enough and they cannot help but want to wrestle things to the ground.
I desire a son who isn’t afraid to get dirty, to play in the dirt. Who passionately picks his battles and is willing to fight for what he believes in and wrestle it to the ground.
I long to raise a godly son who will be his wife’s champion. Who will fully be boy and then fully man. A man that has embraced the way God has uniquely made him and hasn’t decided to keep his hands out of the dirt of life.
I pray that he has other men around him digging in the dirt beside him encouraging him to war with the weapons God has given him. May they fight bold and brave and shoulder to shoulder as God intended.
So, today I find joy in letting boys be boys and in a blink of an eye I’ll watch that little boy turn into a man. I hope that I never squash one second of God-intended boy-ness along the journey.
What do you love about your boy(s) and how do you encourage them in their boy-ness?
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I’m a boy mom and a girl mom. I may have 5 girls but my 1 boy makes up for any lack of boy-ness in our home. From the moment he was born I began to notice all of the differences and continue to be amazed and blessed by watching him grow. This Sunday he turns 9 years old and I love being his mom and watching him grow.
Oh, this made me LOL. When my younger one was little, there was a particular spot on the edge of our concrete driveway that rutted out into a fair size little ‘pool’. Anytime it rained, he ran out to play in his ‘swimming pool’. Some of my favorite memories are both of my sons dancing in the rain when it was warm and there was no thunder!
What a sweet memory of boys being boys and having great fun! I love that! Blessings friend, Kristin
YES!!! Oh my gosh yes! I so badly want to show this to some boy moms and beg them to let their boys be boys! But boys of honor! Thank you for this! And for reinforcing that I’m not a “bad” or lazy mom for letting them do “boy” things!
Hi Meg! Such a cute blog you have! So glad that this spoke to you and encouraged you that you are not bad or lazy for letting them do “boy” things. I think it can be tricky for a female to learn how different boys are and let them be themselves without squashing who God made them to be. I’m trusting God to continue to give me wisdom concerning this very thing as I continue to mother my boy. Blessings, Kristin