I was caught a little off guard when my son wanted to talk. I shouldn’t have been because it was that usual time of night when I am having thoughts of snuggling up in my bed, but my children have other things in mind. It is a sweet time when they tend to be very open and want to communicate with me, and I have to admit I wish it could happen a few hours earlier in the day…

Nonetheless he wanted to talk, so talk we did. For quite a while we talked. Until finally, he got up the nerve to say what it was he wanted to talk about—the issue was dating. He wanted to know how it was going to work when he starts dating. He had questions about money and very practical things. But he has left me thinking long and hard about how I am going to handle the emotional aspects of dating when the time comes.

Our son is fifteen and a half years old. He has Asperger’s Syndrome. As much as a neurotypical male is at a disadvantage in understanding the female psyche, our son is even more so. As he is wondering how he will earn enough money to take a girl to a movie or dinner, I am wondering how we are going to help our son guard his heart and understand that every interaction he has with a young lady must be God-honoring and respectful.

As I think of the things that are real strengths in my son, I also see where they could be the source of a lot of heartache and angst in this foray into the realm of relationships. He is loyal. He is loving. He can be sensitive and sweet. He does not understand manipulation—it isn’t his modus operandi and he doesn’t anticipate it in others.

So, now begins this mother’s prayer in even more earnest than ever before. My prayer is that God will prepare the heart of the young lady who will capture the heart of my son. First, give her a heart for God. Then, give her a kind and tender spirit that recognizes and understands that God has made my son uniquely who he is for a purpose.

~Louise