A friend was visiting me one day when the boys were younger and she looked out the window at one of them who was walking across the top of the short bridge behind our house. "Isn't that dangerous?" she asked. "Well yea," I replied, "but then so is everything else that they do." Thinking about it, I realized that I was telling the truth.

Things haven't changed a whole lot since they have grown up. Don't get me wrong; they're not foolish and irresponsible (some mothers might disagree). They're just...well, grown up boys. John Eldridge wrote a marvelous book entitled "Wild at Heart." I recommend that every mother of boys read it. Our youngest son actually placed it in my hands when he was a teenager and said, "Read this if you want to understand me." The book describes the heart of a man. It shows how God created man with the desire to conquer and the penchant for adventure and challenge.

I think we mothers of boys do our sons a disservice by trying to squelch their desire for excitement. We try to hold them back and keep them "safe." I believe one of the most significant elements of the relationship I have with our sons is their knowledge that I continuouisly cover them with intercessory prayer. I've never been able to follow them literally (nor would I want to!), but I committed them to God for Him to use them to promote His Kingdom, and that is about as exciting as an adventure can be.