Bugs, hills and sitting still : Developing masculinity in a feminine world.

Gen 18:19 "For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

As I grew up I had 2 brothers, now I am surrounded by boys again with a husband and 2 little boys in the house. It has become apparent to me that these days that the world is increasingly trending to a society that values feminine characteristics. We have seen how the “metro sexual” movement has affected the perception of male expectations of hygiene, dress code, behaviour etc... I believe the increase of the popularisation and glamorisation of the ‘male gay presence’ on TV has played a role in this being so prominent today (but that’s another story).

I am very aware that although my boys are 1 and 4 years old, I am conscience that I am raising future men and am sowing seeds for them as husbands and fathers and for them in their future friendships and in their careers whatever they maybe.

There is a great juxtaposition involved in raising boys that is becoming more evident to me every day and that is the challenge of balancing masculinity and sensitivity. Part of preparing them for success in life is to teach my boys good manners, how to be kind, to be sensitive to the things of the Spirit and how to have a soft heart for those people God places in their world. However, here is the challenge for parents today, to keep that soft nature but not by emasculating them and keeping that God given strength that was put into them intentionally by their maker.

God made us differently. He placed in men a different kind of strength than he did to women. And He did that intentionally. Sometimes we would love our boys to sit still, be quiet, not see the world as a giant playgym and take risk after risk without seeing the potential dangers that make a mummas heart skip a beat!

If you have EVER had a moment like that with your boy or boys, take comfort by looking at the big picture. God created an inner strength in his boys and this is necessary for them to develop into strong men for them to support, protect and stand up for their future families. I am grateful every day for the man God put into my path and made my husband. He personifies to me this balance of a soft heart for God’s people but a man with strength who looks after his family.
I am beyond grateful for him as a role model to my boys.

So, no matter what age your boys are, help them take risks every now and then. Let them be the hero and climb up that tree or that hill. Allow them to build the Godly characters of courage and strength. Let them run and use their energy and don’t freak out when they touch bugs (even though I can’t stand creepy crawlies). One day down the future, you will have a daughter in law that is grateful your boy will kill the bugs in the house!

Lauren x