Train Up a Child: Wine, Women, and Boys

As with most moms, I want to make sure my children are properly trained to venture out into the wilds of life.  Armed with an arsenal of “how to’s” and a craftsman toolbox of “what if’s”, we strive to tell them all we can about every situation they will encounter far beyond mommy’s hand holding.  It’s when we have to let go that we realize how little we’ve really taught them or at least what they’ve comprehended!

Did they really get that “brush your teeth 3 times a day” was really so they didn’t endure the pain of root canals later in life, you know, when they actually have to pay for it?  Or that “honoring your father and mother” was so that they were assured a long life (hopefully filled with our grandchildren so we can have do-overs)?  Or that not using the dish towel for cleaning the milk on the floor or for wiping their dripping nose was really not a conspiracy to make their lives difficult but rather a concentrated effort to minimize those “invisible” germs that no one but we moms believe exist?  Or, that putting on sunblock wasn’t a ploy to make them look “uncool” when at White Water with their friends, but really a safeguard against the oh-so-sure whines and cries of a burnt-to-a-crisp teenager, reverting them instantly into a 3 year old with a booboo?  

It is literally impossible to tell them about every whiplash they are likely to encounter from broken hearts, fractured bones, or crushed egos.  They will somehow experience situations that you not only didn’t tell them about, but that you never even thought about mentioning. 

But what I did find is that it really boils down to just two major things – beyond the “big ten commandments” of course.  You know, those two were the ones King Lemuel’s mother taught him about too: Too much wine and loose women!

When I saw this in Proverbs 31 it was an “AH HA!” moment.  Does all the other stuff we tell them about really matter if they don’t get these two?  I mean she warned her son about these two things first, before she told him about what the qualities of the perfect woman are.  When you think about it, if we could just fully teach our children the implications of both alcohol and premarital sex (and they stayed away from them), we could largely feel a great sense of accomplishment.

Now, not to imply that we parents have always practiced what we preach, but rather, we tell them this valid information because we want not only what’s better for them, but God’s best.  Anyhow, at the end of the day (because each day seems to bring its own set of circumstances to deal with) I for one take great comfort in knowing that the Word of God says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”.  (It’s just too bad it didn’t say “and when he is a teenager he will not depart from it”.)

That’s my notes on wine, women, and boys for this post. I keep a copy of that verse in Proverbs 22:6 handy to remind me of the promise I have for my boys. If you would like to have a copy to remind you of the promise for those in your life who are “still going through to where God is taking them to”, it would be my pleasure to… give to bless. Just fill in the request below to get a copy.

Blessed to be a blessing,

Donna

Tags: blessings, donna h blunk, give to bless, giving, Proverbs, raising boys, shenanigans, wine and loose women, wine women boys