Proverbs 1:33
But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm.
“You really let your kids shoot nails?”
My friend and I were drinking coffee on my deck, and a few minutes prior she had witnessed the workings of my middle son’s most recent project.
A handmade blow gun with little picture frame nails for ammunition.
I may be a little on the crazy side, allowing my kids to do riskier things than some people are comfortable with. But I struggle living in a culture where we are hyper-concerned with physical protection (things like safe playground equipment) and not concerned enough about the protection of the innocence of our kids.
Many folks who won’t send their kids down the sidewalk without a helmet don’t blink an eye when the those same kids are exposed to questionable TV shows and sensual movie scenes.
We send our kids out into the world with phones that give them access to a plethora of porn and other unseemly websites. Did you know that according to Huffington Post, porn sites get more traffic per month than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined? But you don’t have to go to a porn site to see porn. Even some of the online video games designed for youth have soft porn ads running down the sidebar. (Ugh…cartoon porn. Seriously???)
My kids have phones and tablets, and I’m pretty sure half of their education comes from youtube “how-to” videos. I know it is impossible for me to protect them from every bad thing the Internet has to offer, but I can pray for their online safety.
I definitely don’t want my kids to break a leg on the playground or impale themselves with handmade blowgun ammo, but I think prayers to keep their purity safe and protected are more important than prayers to keep their bones in tact.
I’d so much rather see my son go through the pain and healing of a broken bone than the pain of broken innocence and lost purity.
Dear Lord, I pray for the safety of my sons. Safety from physical harm, of course, but over and above that I pray that you will protect their purity and innocence in a world that wants to take it away from them. Amen.
*A good read at Today’s Christian Woman – When Internet Filters Are Not Enough
Amen!
Kim, I am always so challenged and encouraged by your articles. Thank you for setting an example for a fellow “boy momma” on how to raise brave adventurous boys who love God. Amen to broken bones over broken innocence.
Thanks Katie. Being a boy momma is the best. I guess I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I still say it’s the best. 🙂
You are spot on! I remember when our oldest son was a young teen – walking to the other side of the mall aisle to “shield” him from Victoria’s Secret! Not sure how effective that really was.
I flip the magazines backwards when I’m in a check-out line, but sometimes the ad on the back is just as bad as the cover photo. It’s impossible to get away from!
Thank you, Kim for your godly insight! I thought up until our 18 week appointment I’d be a mama to a girl (why, I don’t know :P), but now I’m so completely in love with the thought of raising a baby boy into a young man. And humbled. And, I’ll admit, nervous. I’m already praying! There is so much out there. But God is stronger.
Thanks Sophie 🙂 You will love being a boy mama. (You won’t be very excited about your grocery bill in about 14 years, but they’re worth it!) It’s always good to remind yourself that God loves your boy even more than you do.