Dear Ziki,
My dearest boy, I want you to know how I deeply love you, my son. You are God’s amazing grace and loving mercy to us. We are eternally grateful to the Lord for entrusting you to our care—albeit the little knowledge we have in raising a child. But with God’s grace and guidance, you are turning out well.
I am writing you today because I want you to take these words and grow with it. Let it guide you in discovering the world around you. But more importantly, I pray that these series of letters will lead you to the One who will never forsake you and forever love you—the Almighty Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ.
My dear boy, one day you will grow up to be a man. Right now you may still be practicing your little steps and learning to eat on your own, but after some years, you will be a man. And while you’re still a baby, I want you to learn how to be a godly man.
Just as King Solomon instructs his son, I instruct you with it too:
“Be as careful to follow my teaching as you are to protect your eyes.” ~Proverbs 7:2B GNT
Yes, as a man, you must protect your eyes. Men are visual beings and their actions are most likely driven by what they see. The world is full of things you should and should not see. And it is my role as your mother to teach and guide you which sights to focus on.
A woman’s body is truly a sight to behold. It is a wonderful creation that God has made. Even with its imperfections, you can’t deny the truth how lovely the Lord has made the woman to be.
However, you have no right to look at it until you have made a covenant with her and God. In other words, not until you are legally married to one another. So until then, keep your eyes pure and train your mind and heart to look only at what the Lord approves of. I won’t always be with you to filter the things you see, but remember: “The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching.” ~Proverbs 5:21 GNT
As you learn and master this while you are young, I believe you will value this principle when you are a grown man. I will be most proud of you when we finally send you off to be with the wife God prepared for you. For I know how you will love, cherish and respect her as your wife and as a woman, living out this principle in your life.
And even if other women shamelessly expose their bodies for the world to see, let your eyes be guarded and quickly look away! These women are valued by God and must be respected. Because for all we know, her actions may have been brought by a painful experience where she wasn’t respected in the first place. So grant her that respect by looking away or fleeing, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you by renewing your mind and to protect you from the temptation before you.
Son, I want you to understand that I say these things because I, myself, have felt disrespected for men refuse to protect their eyes. And I pray that you, I claim in Jesus’ name, will help renew this world’s image of “man” that was tainted by sin, by being a testimony that a man can live through his lifetime with purity. It will be difficult, yes. But this may only be possible when you allow yourself to be redeemed by the Redeemer himself—Jesus. Every one of us is a sinner, my boy, and we are bound to act upon the sin that dictates us. Yet when you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, He will free you from sin and the death that comes with it. For it is only when you have been justified by Jesus through the washing of his blood, will you be able to live a life apart from sin. And even if you fail, His abounding grace is sufficient for you and his mercies are new every morning. It is only through Jesus can you show the kind of man you are made of.
My beloved son, you are different. You are cut from a special mold. You will rise above your own generation and point them to Jesus. For you are created to bring glory to our God Almighty. You are a man made for the honor of God. A man who will keep himself pure and clean for the service of the Lord. A man devoted to follow Jesus, no matter what the stakes are. A man who loves God above all.
I am humbled to think that God has allowed me to be part of His plans for you and be actively involved in it. And with His grace and direction, I will devote my life raising you to be the man the Lord has created you to be.
I love you so much.
Mommy
parang gusto ko tuloy ng ‘arranged marriage’ – Ziki & Vianca kaya lang ang layo ng gap nila. haha. sayang. ;-)
Friendships go a long way, Ate Moja! ;) Hihi! Excited to see you, Kuya Teddy and Vianca next year, God willing! :D
Dear Ziki and every other little boy in the world’s mommy:
Thanks for sharing a little bit of the parenting wisdom in your heart. I promptly shared it on my Facebook page and wish everybody else will do so as well. Have a Blessed day in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you Ben! I am no expert but everyday I thank God for the wisdom He gives me through His word as I raise my little boy. And yes, I pray the same for all the sons of their mothers who would like to raise a new breed of men who will influence their generation to honor and serve God. :)
This is……amazing. I love this, Ate Normi. SUPER LOVE THIS! I hope not only your son would be able to read this beautiful open letter but also all of the men out there. Ate, I believe Ziki will become a man after God’s own heart. God bless you and your family! Thanks for sharing this!
AMEN Allison! We may not yet immediately see the fruit of this seed we’re planting but we are confident in Christ that it will grow beautifully in his life as he seeks and obeys God. And yes, the reason why I made this an open letter is to share my heart to all the mothers who also wants to raise their sons (and daughters) in purity before the Lord. :)
So inspiring,..