I remember when I learned I was expecting and wanted so very much to have a son, the son of a farmer to carry on after dad. I wished, hoped, even prayed for a son for my husband. When my sister did one of those crazy “urinate in a cup and add it to Draino” experiments (or some other chemical—this mommy-brain can no longer remember), it turned the color for a daughter. I remember being so upset at first. Then we found out through an ultra-sound that it would indeed be a son. I cried! I still remember how happy I was to give my husband a son, though he had never mentioned a preference of the sex of our child. He is the only boy of four children and his father is the only boy of four children. I felt like I was doing my duty as a farmer’s wife and was so excited.

When our second child’s ultrasound displayed boy parts, I cried again:  another son; I must be some sort of queen! At the third ultrasound, I cried again…another boy? Really. I was so happy but at the same time was wondering if I had hoped too much! And, at the fourth ultrasound? Yes, more tears for yet another son was to join our family. Four boys. Four boys! What do I do with four boys?

While I am very thankful for my sons, I am daily reminded that I do not really understand boys and their ways. I do not understand why all air that passes from the body—in any way—is funny. Really? Yes, apparently it is. From my conservative husband to our  19 month old, they all laugh– every time. I don’t understand why they run, hop, jump and push when we COULD just walk. I do not understand why they all compete for attention and power over the rest of the family. But what I do know is that God knows. He understands. He will help me to love my boys and lead them toward Him.

Moms of boys…according to one report over 90,000 more boys are born each year than girls. This has been the trend, the report noted, since 1940! That’s a lot of boys and thus a lot of moms of boys out there. I started thinking about what it means to be the mom of a son and what God’s word says about moms of sons. I looked up Mommas of boys in the Bible to see if I could glean something from them. There are several moms presented but two caught my attention. One is from the Old Testament and her name is Jochebed. The other is from the New Testament and her name is Eunice. Both women show us what we need to be doing as Mommas of boys.

Jochebed was the mother of Moses. She was married to a man named Amram and was of the family of Levi. What I learned about Jochebed is that she knew her scripture and she acted on the facts of scripture. In Genesis 15:16 God, who is making promises to Abram (later Abraham) about the nation that will come out of him, tells that in the fourth generation the nation (Israel) would come out again from God’s judgments. The 4^th generation…Levi is the first generation of the nation of Israel. Levi’s son is Kohath, the second generation. Kohath had four sons, one of them is Amram; he was in the third generation. Yep, the same Amram who is Moses’ daddy is in the 3^rdgeneration. So, when Moses was born to Amram and Jochebed, he was the 4^th generation of this nation. (Gen 6:16-20 shows the generations.) Moses would fulfill scripture. Also, during the time of Moses’ birth, Egypt’s pharaoh, who was holding the Israelites as slaves, started telling the midwives to kill all the Israelite baby boys when they were born so the slaves would not overtake the Egyptians (Exodus 1:16). When Moses was born, Jochebed saw that he was a “goodly child” (Exodus 2:2), and she protected him in the now famous Bible account of her hiding her son in bulrushes in a tiny basket-boat. She knew scripture and she acted on the facts of scripture. She knew that her son could fulfill that scripture and she helped to preserve him. Jochebed also, through a series of events, was able to nurse her own baby son and teach him who he was as an Israelite until he went to live with the daughter of pharaoh as her Egyptian son. Jochebed’s teaching would carry Moses through many days of his life. He was not a perfect man, but he knew who he was and who Jehovah God was.  Later in Moses’ life, he would follow God on his own. He would lead Israel out of Egypt and he would fulfill God’s scripture.

The second mom is only mentioned in one verse. Eunice is the mom of Timothy. Timothy is a helper and mentee of the Apostle Paul. In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul tells us, “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee [Timothy], which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also.” Unfeigned according to Webster’s 1828 dictionary is “not counterfeit; not hypocritical; real; sincere.” Timothy’s faith was real, sincere and not made up or put on. It was real. Wow, an unfeigned faith, isn’t that what we all want for our children? Paul notes that this faith was in generations of Timothy’s family. Timothy’s father was a Greek, an unbeliever, so Timothy learned scripture from his mom. She knew it because of her mom, Lois. The truth of scripture being passed from generation to generation does not happen without effort: our effort. I like that God included a mom teaching her son about the truth of God’s word. So, know we can do it, too.

As moms of boys in our society today, we need to be passing on the truth of God’s word. We need to be teaching our boys—and daughters too, for that matter—so they come to the realization that they are sinners and in need of God’s great love and salvation. Then we need to go further, teaching them to rightly divide God’s word so they know the parts of it that are written directly to them today verses and what was written to others for only our edification. We can do this, Moms, but that means we need to know scripture ourselves. We need to study God’s word, to mine out small gems of truth and know it. Teaching our children will happen as we go through the days and nights with them, not just at set times of study. We need to be ready to share gems of truth from God’s word. I know, Momma friend, that during sipping years and diaper years and runny nose years, it is hard. I am there with you. But, sweet friend, now is the time. Pick one gem from God’s precious word and add it to the treasure chest in your child’s heart. Do that often. Your son needs God’s word and you are the Mom to help him learn it.

A dear friend once told me that only sons can grow to be men of God. So, at our house, we are growing up men of God. We want men who will continue to mine out gems of truth to pass along to their children and grandchildren. God needs you, Mom, and you can do it!  Your son is worth it.