Friday, April 2, 2021

Winds Will Blow

Blogging these days feels tricky. While we like to say everyone is entitled to their opinion it doesn’t actually feel like everyone is entitled to their opinion. At least not opinions that run contrary to the strange new world in which we live.

I like my space here and I especially like the tone. I like that people feel welcome here because they are. Sometimes people who know me in real life ask me to write about current events and I mostly decline because the world is already too noisy and I don't want to add to it. There are exceptions and I guess today might be one of those. 

When I started thinking about my A-Z challenge posts I knew I wanted to write both for and about my grandchildren, and the first thing that popped into my head was today’s letter. Which seemed obvious...

B is for Boys

And then I had all these second thoughts because it feels like we’re off the cliff and falling fast when it comes to talking anything gender. It feels impossible not to stir people up even when you’re not trying to stir people up. 

For the record I am never one to stir people up.  

At the same time, things are happening today that I find confusing, and the speed with which they're happening is truly alarming.  

I raised daughters. And now I have grandsons. When daughter1 announced 'It's A Boy' I remember a huge smile spreading across my face and only feeling a teensy bit panicked on the inside. A boy? What do I do with a boy? Girls are what I know. Tea parties and hair ribbons. American Girl Dolls and lots and lots of words and emotion spilling out and over everywhere. 

I know that's all completely un-pc to say in 2021, but in our house it was also very true. 

I want to write this down. I want my girls and my grands to know they should always hold up what the world is saying next to what God has said, and when those two things don't line up go with God. I know there are very many people today who don't believe in God, don't believe the Bible is full of truth and for our benefit, who don't accept or don't want to accept it holds the answer to every single question the universe might ask, but I do. 

I believe He made us deliberately and, by grand and glorious design, to be different. Somehow we've come to see this as a bad thing, something that needs correcting, when in fact I would say it's a truly marvelous thing. 

Why do we suddenly want the human race to be homogenous? 

I'm not quite sure how we got here, to a place where it's become necessary to completely change our vocabulary, to identify what you think you are, and if you don't watch out. Is our gender really based on what we declare it to be in words, in how we feel in various seasons of our life? Or is it based in how we're made? In the literal fiber of our being...our chromosomes and DNA? 

I have tremendous compassion for young people struggling with truly hard stuff, for children making decisions that will alter their futures in ways they don't even know and can't begin to see or understand. For the pressures and anxiety social media brings into their lives. And I feel so deeply for parents trying to navigate these very sensitive issues with their hurting children. I would also say it helps no one to deny or ignore the most basic science there is. 

Am I a girl or a boy? 

Intricately and with purpose woven into each one of us before we draw our first breath.  

"For You formed my inward parts; 
You knitted me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13

Sometimes when I blog I imagine my little grandboys all grown up, maybe picking up my blog book and reading what Nana thought about the world in which she lived. I imagine when another 20 years go by, the world they live in as adults will look quite differently than it does today. I want them to know that no matter what man can conceive or be deceived by, God is still and ever the One who spoke the very universe into existence. 

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; 
male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27 

I pray every day for my grandsons parents. I pray God grants them wisdom, humor, grace, and patience as they raise these tiny humans into full grown men. I pray they embrace the privilege of parenting in every season, that they never shrink back from having hard conversations, leading by example, and pointing their children to the truth. 

I pray too for these darling boys who love their trains and their planes and wrestling each other to the ground. I pray they grow to be men of courage and conviction. Tender hearted and slow to anger. Strong, generous, and compassionate. 

To be who God created them to be.
Men who stand firm in their faith when the winds of this world blow. 

9 comments:

  1. Very well said Joyce. I'm 100% with you.

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  2. Wonderful prayer for your grandsons!

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  3. What a refreshing thing to read, I always enjoy your blog and today was no exception. Very well said! I'm raising boys and girls and I wish the exact same thing for them, to follow God's word and not what this world says.

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  4. Thank you for sharing your hopes for your grandsons. There are many of us who feel the same and have similar hopes and prayers for our children and grandchildren. We have compassion for those who struggle with what God has given them, and with knowing and understanding his plan and love for them. It's not an easy time and world to grow up in today and keep the faith in God alive!

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  5. Amen, Amen, Amen!!! Wonderful post, which I'd like to figure out how to share to my FB wall.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Yes, thank you for this. I have been having 'lively' discussions with my adult daughters who don't agree with this post. I've told them people need to look with their eyes to see if they are male or female. If that doesn't convince them, have a chromosome test. I've mentioned the scriptures you wrote here, but it hasn't helped. (They both grew up in our church.) It has brought division in our family. Thankfully it doesn't last for long and I pray it never does.

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  7. Joyce,

    The world is confusing place to live but it's beyond my comprehension how some have trouble knowing what their gender is. You know I think back, there were boys and girls who acted more like the opposite sex yet they knew what their gender was without hesitation. The author of these diversion comes not from God. I hope when your grandsons read your blog book one day as young men, they will wow over the complexities of the days in which your thoughts were penned and thankful that their lives are made better because of their upbringing. Maybe you can identify with one sex more than the other but there's no denying your birth gender. We're all uniquely made by our Creator. Embrace your gender full-heartedly and be proud! Nicely written, my friend.

    If you haven’t already, I invite you to check out my Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Art Sketch. Happy A2Zing!

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