I write a lot about teen boys. I have two, and they are curious creatures, and by curious I mean odd. First, teen boys just don’t understand girls at all. I didn’t know that when I was fifteen. It does make me feel a bit better now as I look back. For example, recently we sat in the den as a family to talk about the new upcoming school semester. There were some things to go over like bedtimes, grade expectations, friend choices, grade expectations, after school activities, and grade expectations.

In the middle of our family meeting, a call came in for one of our teenaged sons. My husband answered, after a moment he handed the phone to my son, and simply said, “It’s Sarah”.

Okay, I’m wondering who’s Sarah? My son barely uttered four words during the brief conversation with Sarah. Afterward he hung up and sat there, silent. My husband and I together asked, “Who’s Sarah?”

While girls are a primary concern for parents of teen boys, they aren’t the only concern.

Other worries constantly vie for top position on my anxiety scale. Where are they going, who are they going with, and what are they doing when they get there? Are they studying hard enough to get into college, and studying hard enough for someone to offer them money to go? Also high on the list: are they being responsible, kind, respectful and considerate of others? How is their thought life right now? What music are they listening to, what shows are they watching on TV, and maybe worst of all, what are they seeing on the internet? Truly, it’s enough to strangle a horse.

So as I read the passage in Luke about Jesus when he was near that age I find reassurance. My first thought is that even Jesus had his parents freaked out, and even Jesus wasn’t where He was “supposed” to be, or where His parents expected He would be, at least once. Yet mostly what brings me comfort from this passage is that Jesus existed as a teen boy at one time. Not in exactly the way mine do, but as close as can be considering He is God and all.

I mean when His poor, panicked parents finally found Him and confronted Him they weren’t all that impressed with His apparent wisdom. They knew who He was, and what He was capable of already. I’ll just bet Jesus was about to be grounded. It was Mary who jumped first, demanding to know just exactly where He had been (For three days!), and did He know how worried she had been? I love Mary. Can’t you just see her, a little Jewish woman, standing there with her hands on her hips and her feet firmly planted?

Can’t you just see her, a little Jewish woman, standing there with her hands on her hips and her feet firmly planted?

In typical teenager form, Jesus countered right back. “Why were you looking for me?” Doesn’t that just sound like a teenaged boy? He might have even rolled His eyes and sighed really loudly! I’m sure Mary thought, “Oh, no reason. Only we thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere back there!” Isn’t that what we always think? That ditches are piled full of foolish dead kids who aren’t where they said they would be?
Sadly, Jesus leaves regular, ordinary teens behind at this point for He went on to explain exactly what He had been up to. No hemming. No hawing. He went straight to the point.

Still reeling from their fear, (after all they had misplaced the Savior of the world) His parents still didn’t grasp it all, but Jesus did. Jesus was being all He knew to be. He was imparting wisdom and speaking truth. Truth. Getting the truth out of most teens can be like pulling teeth.

So as the mom of two teens, this passage actually makes me smile. I can empathize with Mary and Joseph. I can feel their worry, their panic, and I can feel the flood of relief they must have felt at finding Jesus safe in the Temple. I also know that amidst this relief, Mary still wanted to ring His neck. Yet mostly I smile because I see, once again, how as Christians we serve a God who has walked where we walk and lived as we live. I have never been a teenaged boy, and I don’t always understand mine, but thank heaven Jesus has and does! Maybe knowing that will help me, as I parent these two boys, to rest easier and freak out less. Well, maybe.