Under the Radar

He likes to go unnoticed which is nearly impossible because he's totally cute and has a gigantic mop of hair on his head that commands attention. He is completely convicted about the truth of Jesus Christ, but doesn't like all that "worship and church stuff". He worries about how he looks, but thinks he looks pretty good after all his P90X workouts. His Ipod playlist has both rock, rap, and the song off the soundtrack of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Bless Your Beautiful Hide. He is a 14 year old boy and they are full of contradictions.

I sometimes wonder what it feels like to be in his head. I've only been a 14 year old girl, so I'm curious and ignorant. I imagine it's really hard to be in the 8th grade in our world as a christian teenage boy. I pray for my son all the time. I ask God to protect him. I ask God to convict him of sin (especially the ones I'll never know about) I pray he will have courage to be true to who God created him to be. I pray mainly that his love for Christ will grow to the point that it pushes fear and hate and selfishness out.

I was looking through photos from the past year and realized I have very few of my Klynters. It makes me sad because he will soon pass through these years and be gone from my home. Pictures are my way of holding on to moments that have slipped past. But he hates having his picture made, so I try to respect that and only take a few. I ask God to etch the memories into my heart so I won't forget. I don't talk about him much because he is a private guy and I try to respect that as well. But, there is not a day that goes by that I don't tell him I love him, only to hear "love you too" in return. I hope he never decides he doesn't like saying it. He lets me hug him, but not as much as last year. Instead we use humor to convey our feelings, and that's okay for me. I realize to parent a teenage boy you have to be willing to change the way you connect so that you still can connect.

The other skill I have learned and am still perfecting is my "not reacting" face and voice. It takes a lot of practice but I'm pretty sure now if Klynt or Kyler came to me and said "I'm dropping out of high school to join the circus" I would look at them and calmly say, "what makes you say that?" The less you react, the more they will talk, and Klynters especially.

So there you have it. I'm the mother of three amazing children, but the one you don't hear much about is just living his dream of "living off the grid where the government can't find me." Crazy teenager.