I admittedly am not a good Facebooker. Truth be told, I only joined Facebook to keep tabs on my kids. Good thing I did, since Facebook was the first to clue me in on the fact that my son got a girlfriend.
My two oldest teenagers got a Facebook account when they were around 14, against my better judgment. But it was hard to argue with, “Well, Dad has one!” So I reluctantly gave in and also signed up.
I don’t go on Facebook every day. When I do log in, I usually spend five minutes there. Well, imagine my surprise when I went on Facebook to see what my older kids (who no longer live at home) have been up to and I saw a link on my son’s Facebook page to some lovely young girl who proclaimed to the world that she was “in a relationship” with him!
Of course I did what any mother would do: I immediately scoured her Facebook page to find out who her friends were, what interests she has (we have similar interests – hee hee – no surprise there!) and if she is a “nice” girl.
Since I live 1,000 miles away from my son, this is, at present, the only form of investigative mothering at my disposal.
My son has never really had a girlfriend – especially not one that he advertised on social media. In high school, there were a couple of girls that he thought were special but he was more focused on athletics and having fun with his friends, which my husband and I were happy to encourage.
After discovering that my son “had a girlfriend,” I grabbed the dog and went for a long walk. The dog seems to be the only one in my world right now who is not changing and therefore not challenging my perfect world order! She obediently listened as I lamented about the fact that my son now had a significant other/woman in his life whom I did not know. She gave me fittingly sad eyes as I explained to her that it wasn’t fair that I found out from Facebook. I patiently explained to her that I had thought when the day came, because we are so close, that he would, of course, want to consult me first!
But, once again, I was reminded that boys are so different than girls – they just don’t want to talk about EVERYTHING in their lives.
I continued to lament over how much life was changing as my son continued to become the man God had destined him to be.
As I walked, I also talked with my heavenly Father. Unlike my dog, His adoration is not only genuine but it includes well-timed instruction and guidance. I told the Lord that I didn’t think I was ready for this; I was worried how I would act when that inevitable day came when I would meet the girl my son will eventually marry (of course, she may or may not be this one – I am not getting ahead of myself). Then He reminded me of the Scripture that calls a young man to leave his parents and cleave to his mate.
I responded, “But this is hard!” And He lovingly reminded me that it’s supposed to be.
If life were easy, I would not need His grace, mercy and love. {click to tweet}
I would not need his Holy Spirit to be my constant companion to walk with me daily. I would not need the power of His love to pour through me and change me minute-by-minute.
If I could do it by myself, I would not need a Savior.
But, thankfully, He will never leave me nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6).
We have been praying for our children’s spouses since before they were born. So when that inevitable day comes, He will be with me and guard my heart and mind so that I can welcome the young woman He has picked for my son to be his helpmate.
And I’m not kidding myself – I know the only reason the dog is so agreeable about going for walks with me is because she wants to see the neighbor’s dog – her boyfriend.
