is the mother of a boy

I am the mother of a boy.

 For those who are the mother of a boy that sentence alone says VOLUMES! And I have only one boy, but I have friends with more than one boy. I admire them.

For those of you who haven't a boy in your home, let me just tell you life is never the same when a boy lives in your home. Am I right, ladies?

I knew that God made me to be the mother of a boy without a doubt in my mind, but I prayed for a girl first because my husband NEEDED to have a girl. Girls have a way of messing up their daddies and granddaddies. Then I prayed for my boy. I didn't pray nearly specific enough, but God doesn't make mistakes. God also has a warped sense of humor at times too. I thought by adopting outside our gene pool that I would circumvent my mother's prayer, "Please, Lord, give her one just like her." He answered her prayer in the form of a boy.

I thought I was ready to be the mom of a boy because I was very much a tomboy growing up. I climbed trees, popped wheelies, pulled the fat ticks off dogs without getting grossed out, caught tadpoles and watched them flop on a hot-tin roof, got into a fist fight with a boy when I was in the fourth or fifth grade, and the list goes on and on. But none of this prepared me to be the mother of a boy and all of the little surprises that go along with that title. I was wrong.

No matter how much of a tomboy I thought I was I never processed information quite the way my son does. For example, no one ever had to tell me, "Kristy, don't eat dirt," but apparently, I should have told my son. No one ever had to tell me not to catch a field mouse with my bare hands. No one ever had to tell me not to keep moving a dead bird from place to place with my bare hands even after the maggots were in its belly. These things would have NEVER crossed my mind. I'm waiting for the day that I wash and dry a frog or a lizard. I'd almost prefer to wash them than stick my hands in his pockets and find them…Know what I mean?

I have to also tell you I didn't have a brother, and the last time we had a male born to my mom's side of the family was over 30 years before Pearce came along…30 YEARS!

He takes things apart with no interest in putting them back together. I have vacuumed up more little Hot Wheel tires than I care to count. When there is a bad storm heading our direction, my goal is to hopefully find enough pieces to make one working flashlight out of the ten that have been dismantled. Perfectly good toys are taken apart to be used for purposes such as weapons and "bullets" for a slingshot.

I've talked to my friends who have boys, and I've been assured my son is perfectly normal in all these respects.

Boys are not content to sit and watch things happen. They are out exploring their world, and without warning and without thinking things through can put themselves into precarious situations. It takes but a moment for one of these little creatures to scale a ten-foot ladder. I know this because when my son was two, we were outside together, and Patrick turned to talk on the phone, and from the time he took the phone from me, Pearce had scaled the ten-foot ladder. I'm really surprised that he has reached it to the ripe, old age of five.

So, with Mother's Day approaching, my hat's off to those of you who are the MOTHERS OF BOYS, especially if you have a strong-willed, active one like mine. And for those of you who have raised your boys and they now have boys, don't forget to encourage young moms today. You may not agree with everything they do, but you can still encourage them. Just hearing a funny story about a stunt your son might have pulled can lift the spirit of a mom who is raising a boy now.

For moms of boys, a few verses to give you hope and encouragement with just a dash of humor and irony…

Isaiah 40:30-31 (New International Version)

 ³⁰ "Even youths grow tired and weary," (Eventually, the little darlings do have to sleep.)

       "and young men stumble and fall;

 ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength." (You know where you have to go to get fueled up for the job.)
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint." (And ladies, let's face it. There are a lot of things that can cause us to faint…i.e. read previous paragraphs.)

Jeremiah 31:25-26 (New International Version)

²⁵ "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.

 ²⁶ At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me." (Ladies, may your sleep be restful and pleasant and without worry.)

Now, to the flip side of that adventure coin. There is no sweeter lovin' than that which comes from a boy to his momma. His soft kisses on your cheek, his arms around your neck, the spontaneous "I love you," just can't be beat. Nothing can quite melt a scorning mom's heart like the love from her boy.

SO, whether or not you are the mother of a boy, encourage your girlfriends, daughters, and granddaughters who are raising the next generation of men because we need some godly men to be raised up. Amen? Amen!