Boys go through clothes quicker than a wink. Especially the knees of their pants. Nice pants, play pants, athletic pants, blue jeans…it doesn’t matter. Within weeks, days even…the pants get lighter and lighter on the knees, and then one day you pull them out of the drier and a tiny hole has formed from the ever-thinning fibers. The holes get bigger and wider at an alarming rate, as the boys scurry around the floor with their match box cars. The strings tear apart as they scuff their knees up the trunk of their favorite tree. Their shirts become stained with mud, dirt, marker, and whatever else may be in their way as they conquer their next big thing. Their mamas can usually tell what they’ve had to eat and drink that day by looking at their sleeve, which always seems to serve as the best napkin. Yes, boys sure do go through clothes quickly.

Boys go through toys. The big, the little, the ones inside and outside. Every mom of boys has to have said the words, “Be easy!” so many times. They push hard, they pull apart with no mercy, they slam, they thump. Boys like to take their toys outside and then decide that they should leave them out there in the elements, and pretty soon, they toys don’t hold up and need to be thrown out or replaced. Boys love to “fix” their toys, and in the “fixing” their toys often become pieces that no longer fit back together. Yes, boys go through toys all the time.

Boys go through food! Oh my, how they go through all the food. Somehow, even as my grocery list gets longer and longer and longer, the groceries last less and less and less! Some days, a mama feels like every time she looks at a boy he has food in his mouth. Some boys go from picky eaters as toddlers to never ending pits as they hit one growth spurt after another (which makes them go through the clothes again). When they are out, pretty soon they no longer order the kid’s meals. They want steaks, and the number one combos, and “can we get dessert, mama? I’m still hungry.” Yes, boys can sure go through some food!

Boys go through shoes. Big shoes, little shoes, lace-ups, Velcro, and cleats. They’ve worn them all. They get new shoes that “make them run fast”, and those shoes are so clean and nice. Then they walk outside. And that’s the last time those new shoes are ever clean and nice again. They scuff them, tear the laces, wear down the rubber, and if you’re not looking too carefully, their toes will be poking through before you know it. Boys go through shoes in the blink of an eye.

Boys go through stages. In their baby years, they depend on their mama so very much. We feed them, clothe them, and hold them when they want us. And when they become toddlers, watch out! Nothing will be safe anymore from curious hands and mouths. When they learn how to run, mamas and daddies despair over how we will ever keep up with this never-ending ball of energy. We pray and plan for activities that will fill this boy’s curious appetite and also get us to rest time. And then, boys go to school. We wipe our tears away and push back the sadness at the fact that someone else will be drying our boy’s tears when he falls off the monkey bars, and someone else will be telling him to slow down, think first, and be calm. Boys will grow into their own interests and activities. Sports, music, and clubs will threaten to take over a boy’s life, but most mamas and daddies won’t let it. Boys grow up into teenagers who all of a sudden don’t want to hang with their moms all the time. Moms may despair at first, but then they take heart. Because they know this one thing…

Even though boys go through all kinds of stuff with lightning speed, there is something that they never grow out of. Something that they never break so badly it can’t be repaired. Something that is constant in their life no matter what stage they are in.

It’s their mama’s heart. Her love. A boy can fill up his mom’s heart to capacity, but her heart will just get bigger and bigger with her love.

When he makes a bad grade, that boy is going to tell mama first and see what she says about it. When he gets hurt, that boy is going to want his mama there to hold his hand. When he meets that girl who could be “the one”, that boy is going to want to let his mom know. And when his heart is broken, who is he going to call? Mama.

They may get too big to sit in your lap, mama. They may pretend like they don’t want a good-bye hug. They may pull their hand away when you try to hold it. But they haven’t “gone through” you. You will never be outgrown or cast aside. Sure…they are going to break your heart and hurt your feelings. But they will always come back to you. Why?

You are still their mama. No matter what boys go through.