Grit and Honey

Boys can be irksome, infuriating

Boys can be callous, stubborn

Boys can be gentle

Boys can be broken

They are grit and honey

They are war and peace

They are outrage and compassion

They are fire and water

They are strong and weak

Boys are enigmas that baffle me

They tear my heart apart

Yet teach me to be better

They find their way back into my good graces

We hesitate to mention them too loudly in this feminist era

We often condemn them brutally for their mistakes

Yet God calls them good, God calls them enough too

For mamas of boys, let them be boys

But brand into them tenderness and empathy, kindness, humility

So they will find the way home again

Prepare them for a world that is inclined to be cruel

Yet allow them to find the good and fight for it in ways they know

Boys often get a bad rap

But can we give them the benefit of the doubt?

We want to tame all their impulses, make them over

But listen, love, affirm, respect them as they are

And they will have the potential to be outstanding servants and leaders

We don't need to try to eliminate all of their rough edges,

But nor should we be permissive of their ignorance or arrogance

Just remember they are growing

And we have our own imperfections

Steward your children well, and

Love your sons, fiercly.

*written after a hard week with my boys. At my breaking point, I went for a run with a dark sky threatening to open up.....And it did. I needed it, the earth needed it desperately. I simply laughed out loud. Sometimes when we think we have had enough, God cracks us open and breathes life back into our lungs.