After laboring for hours, I smiled, sweaty with relief when the doctor held up a cheesy newborn. He announced, “It’s a BOY!” With tears of surprise and awe streaming down my face, I glanced up at my husband. We’d waited to find out the gender, certain that after two girls, another girl was on the way. My husband nodded, acknowledging this was true with the biggest smile stretched across his face. Our family with two precious little girls at home would never be the same.

From the first moment I held him, I knew raising a boy would be a whole new ball game and it has been. From the moments of frantically searching the house for him only to find him calmly hiding under the kitchen cabinets among the pots to scrubbing his dirty little face after hours of playing outdoors in the warm sunshine and mud, every moment has been a gift we have treasured.

It saddens me to see society want to replace the very nature of a boy with feminine qualities because they’re too energetic or rough or learn differently. What a wonderful gift God gave us when he created us so unique from the opposite sex. It’s something to be treasured and not trashed.

Along the way we have learned how vastly different little boys are from girls. Here are a few of the sweetest things I’ve learned to love about raising boys:

Raised on dirt

They are born with dirt in their DNA and it seeps out of their pores all day, every day. Don’t sweat it, just let them be! Our boys are often found in the front yard, digging a hole to China and that’s perfectly fine with me. For them, time stands still as they line up their Tonka trucks and John Deere tractors, driving them over hills and valleys of their own making. It might me a little more scrubbing come bath time, but it’s a great outlet for their energy!

Rough and tough

They are adventuresome and fearless, energetic and rough. Combined, this might mean many trips to the ER in your future for stitches and broken bones. Keep calm and smile bravely for your boy and be thankful God gave us self-healing bodies. Allowing boys to develop their adventurous side is a part of life, and for you, hopefully without many injuries though.

Role models

Their daddy will always be their hero. There is a special place in a boy’s heart for his mama, but the father is the one he emulates. He mimics his father and will grow into what’s been modeled to him. Some boys grow up without an earthly father in their life. Finding an older, godly man to influence him is a wonderful gift and something we can pray for if we know of boys without close male role models. We can also encourage boys to their love of their father on earth and their Father in Heaven.

Tender-hearted

Their tender hearts will forever be etched on their mama’s heart. Savor those moments when they are sweaty, dirty and smelly but they’ve just thrust a bunch of wildflowers in your face. Before you can blink, they’ll be grown and gathering wildflowers for another woman in their life. These moments grow further apart as our boys grow into men so treasure each moment because you never know when it’ll be one of their lasts.

For the love of boys everywhere, let’s celebrate their differences and encourage them to grow into the men God created them to be whether it’s a farmer or electrician or accountant. They have qualities unique to their sex and it’s important that we acknowledge them and help develop them, not shame them from being strong, hardworking leaders.

” Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

There are many more things I could say about raising boys, but these are just a few of the most important to me. What do you have to add about raising boys? I would love to hear your thoughts!