To My Teenage Spawn: I love you with a fierce kind of love, BUT you're making me crazy

"It's a boy!" the doctor said.  I looked at your sweet face with the smashed nose and thought, "You are an angel sent straight from heaven."  Those first newborn days were sleep deprived, but precious.  We shared many late nights together, and it felt like it was just the two of us in the entire world.  We snuggled and played Patty Cake and read books and puréed vegetables and I felt pretty good about this mothering thing.  I had asked God for you, and He had provided:  #blessedmother

And then, at nine-freaking-months old, you took your first steps and it seems you've been hell-bent on destruction ever since.

At first, it was simple, normal baby stuff like dumping cereal boxes and baskets of books.   You were really cute so I let it slide.

Then, just before you turned two, back to back hurricanes rolled through New Orleans where we lived at the time.  We didn't really notice though, because you had already been living there for 23 months.  Natural disaster of epic proportions.

I realized that your daredevil tactics had reached a truly perilous level when I walked past your room one day when you were about five and I heard you say behind the closed door, "this is going to be REALLY DANGEROUS!!"  (I was so grateful for those years when all of your thoughts came out of your mouth because I know I prevented more than one trip to the emergency room.)

The destruction ramped up as you grew taller.  Bones were broken.  Drywall was patched.  iPad screens were replaced--multiple times.

Even as a young boy, it was abundantly clear that you were at all times on a mission to conquer something.   Oh, the valiant light saber battles that were waged in our cul-de-sac!  Oh, the intense nerf wars that raged in our playroom!  Why, just last week, though you are now 6 foot 3, I spied you carrying a Pirates of the Caribbean sword in the back of your shirt, presumably in case of a sudden zombie invasion.

And then, at times, there were the words.   Destructive words spoken in anger, or frustration, or grumpiness or plain meanness.  Those wounds cut deep and heal slow.

Do you even know how many times I snuck into your room after you were FINALLY asleep so I could cry and pray over you?  Here's a hint:  more times than you've put your little brother in a headlock.

Now you're in high school and my hair shimmers with grey from 15 years of worry.  While you still occasionally unleash some fury on an unsuspecting inanimate object, most of your destructive energy finds an outlet on the Xbox.  But as your mother, I can see that this season of your life has the potential to be the most painful to date.  Mostly because you like to play with fire, both literally and figuratively.  Yes, this is normal.  No, it's not easy.  And praise Jesus, you haven't burned the house down--yet.

On the social scene, you're swimming in a sea of peers who have a different foundation as you.   They are furiously bucking authority in an attempt to prove independence.  While not all of your friends are destined to become hardened criminals, you should not be spending much time with many of them.  Your friends have a powerful influence over you, so choose wisely, my son, and avoid the pain that comes from being made a fool.  Proverbs 13:20

And then there’s that other thing:  GIRLS.  This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you because I’ve had multiple freak-outs in your presence about your new-found interest in the ladies.  In the spirit of honesty, I have to say that so far, every single one your dating interests have truthfully made me want to bang my head against a wall.  I’ve developed quite stealthy social media stalking skills, and I know more than you think I do.  Because I was the first love of your life (you know it’s true), ANY FEMALE that enters your life comes with HIGH expectations from this mama.  I expect RESPECT.  I expect PURITY.  I expect MODESTY.  And above all, I expect that she will love JESUS more than she loves YOU.  Any hussy young lady that compromises any of those things is NOT WORTHY OF MY SON.  With your hormones raging and eyes wide open, I can see how a wicked temptress beautiful girl could easily entice you with her sweet words and smooth talk.  But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword.  Stay away from her!  (Proverbs 5:4,8)  Because you have already walked through some deep valleys since entering the dating scene, I pray you will see that it’s so important to be evenly yoked in your relationships. 

Finally, you have to realize that the world is waging war against you.  The god of this age is a prowling lion and wants to devour you—ESPECIALLY because you’ve professed faith in Christ.  He’s so subtle.  He’s so crafty.  Do you see it?  Do you feel it?  Just open up YouTube and within a few innocent clicks on “suggested videos”, you could find yourself watching something dangerously inappropriate.  (Remember that time when your four year old sister was watching Max and Ruby and three minutes later ended up watching a video on how to make a rocket out of a condom?  Remember the time when you had to do a report on the rubber tree, and a google search turned up more than you bargained for?  Trust me, there are people out there in the internet world that deliberately attempt to entice children—and you are not immune.)  I say this with as much love and affection as I can express:  YOUR ENEMY WANTS TO DESTROY YOU.  His battle plan includes first tempting your flesh, then tempting your eyes, and finally enflaming your pride.  If he can lead you astray with your flesh, your eyes, and your pride, he knows he can gain your allegiance and neutralize your ability to be an effective soldier for the Lord.   Whereas once your battles were entirely fictional, you are now engaged in a very real Spiritual war.  Ephesians 6:12

But, here’s the good news, my handsome son:  Because God wired you to be a warrior, He has given you all the defenses that you need to stand firm.  You have a belt of TRUTH, a breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS, the sandals of PEACE, a shield of FAITH, a helmet of SALVATION, and one awesome offensive weapon:  the SWORD of the Spirit, God's WORD.   Ephesians 6:14-17 

And because Jesus has already won the ultimate battle for you, I encourage you to:

RISK it all to be a witness for Him.
DARE to stand out as a righteous young man.
GO TO BATTLE against forces of evil that tempt you toward godlessness.  
SHRED any false teaching of this world and speak the truth about Jesus Christ.
FIGHT for those who are mistreated, lonely, sick, poor, or lost.

WRESTLE with difficult truths in God’s Word and apply them to your life.

and

DESTROY any lie that attempts to condemn you.

Hey, kid, I’m your biggest fan.   Despite all of your childhood shenanigans, I’m so proud of you.  Yeah, sure, you’re going to mess up, but there’s forgiveness and grace when you fall.  And you can count on me to stand beside you and fight.  However, I can’t promise there will be no more future freak-outs about girls.