Choices...

Last night was our Evergreen meeting. It went well, not as good as last month, because last month was awesome, but I loved it none the less. After the meeting we were standing around chit chatting, as ladies are prone to do, when the subject turned, somehow, to my nephew. Now, I love him dearly. He is 9 months older than my son, being raised by his single mother. My mother-in-law mentioned that he had recently come into possession of the latest 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.' Now, I do not agree with a 12 year old having one of those, but my sister-in-law is not a believer, therefore has different standards than I do. That is her perogative. My issue was with the fact that MY 12 year old was spending the night over there.
So, I immediately called my son and asked him if his cousin had any new magazines that he had showed him. He answered, "yes, but I told him I didn't want to look at it". And that pretty much ended our phone conversation.
My heart was bursting. Granted, it was not pornography, but we take a stand when it comes to modesty, and my son knows right from wrong. And I was so proud of him for choosing what was right. I considered immediately fetching him home, but since he had proven himself mature thus far, I allowed him to stay, and he came home this morning (although much earlier than we normally allow him to stay ;-0)
We discussed things further over lunch, and he proved himself again. He said he was chatting with his aunt , after his cousin had offered to share his magazine, when his cousin came out of his room, waving said magazine. "Mom," he said, "Joshua said he doesn't want to look at this"
His mother told my son, "Josh, you know they are all covered in bathing suits, right?"
To which Josh answered, "yeah, I know, but, whatever..." How eloquent! just kidding. That was his perfect way of saying, 'yeah, i know, still not interested'.
Or maybe he was interested. He is a red blooded male. On the verge of (gulp) growing up, and I know he finds girls fascinating. Yet he still chose to do the right thing. And I believe his story, cuz, come on, we all know when our kids are lying to us!
I sometimes question his maturity- he still thinks passing gas is the funniest thing on earth; yet so does my husband, so scratch that!- but I know where his heart is.
And I am so thankful that, despite my mistakes, he is still growing and learning about the Lord, and what pleases Him, above what pleases himself. He fights with his siblings, and can be quite mouthy, 'hates school', the whole bit. But when it comes down to it, his heart is right where I'm praying that it will be.
A young man, after God's own heart.

** He will probably be furious with me for writing about this, since he reads my blog, but that's okay. I want the world to know how proud I am of him and his growing maturity and faith**