Who Can Mend a Broken Heart?

My sweet G has a huge crush on his Kindergarten teacher. You know the classic young boy who is love struck by his teacher kind of situation. I don't know how it happened or exactly when it happened, but he is head over heels in love with that woman. I would have thought that if he was going to have such strong feelings for his teacher it would have happened early in the year but it didn't. He only started talking about her incessantly a couple of months ago. I think it all started because he wasn't feeling well one day and she rocked him and spent some one on one time with him. That was all it took—he was in love. His reactions to her are so funny. He gets so excited, starts giggling, and turns bright red when you mention her. It is really precious.
I did think that this wouldn't happen until he was quite a bit older. In the classic movie versions the young boy is usually around 12 years old. I should have known G would be different. He has always loved women; even as a baby. Come to think of it both my boys loved women but T never had this kind of reaction. He never had a crush on anyone older than him or if he did he never let me know about it.
For some reason G had the idea that he and Mrs. H had a "hot date" tonight. He was talking about it when I picked him up from school. He had even told another teacher about it. He said, "Mom I have to go to Las Palmas tonight at 7:00 because Mrs. H is going to be there for our date." He even wanted to borrow a credit card from his dad so he could pay. I tried to tell him that he must be mistaken or that they were just playing with him at school. He was convinced that he had a date and we could not talk him out of it. We decided that Mexican food didn't sound bad for dinner so we headed there at 7:00 just in case she really had planned to eat there tonight.
He was fine until 7:49. He would not hear that she wasn't coming. He said, "She is just running late. She will be here." My poor baby was so precious. He kept asking what time it was and when his dad said 7:49 he hung his little head and his bottom lip curled out at least an inch. He tried so hard to be strong and didn't ever totally lose it. We kept him from having a total meltdown by suggesting we stop by a friend's house and putting our feet in her pool. I love my friend. G loves her oldest son and her husband. So we crashed their house and their son took G for a swim. Mrs. H was long forgotten. G's broken heart was mended by a short swim in a friend's pool.
The thing I learned from this situation is that my boys' hearts are most likely going to be broken for real someday. It won't necessarily be a cruel, uncaring act that does it. It could be that the girl he has feelings for just doesn't realize that he likes her. That happens sometimes. It could be that she just doesn't feel the same way that he does. Love is complicated. I can talk to them and give them warnings about giving their heart away before they are old enough to handle it but honestly I don't think that is possible. Love simply happens. Most times without any warning at all. Someone walks into your life and part of your heart belongs to them forever.
As a mom I want to protect my boys. I want to prevent them from anything that is unpleasant or harmful but the truth is that from the moment they laid T in my arms I realized how inadequate I am to provide the protection that would require. I am only human; a weak vessel being used by God to raise these precious boys. They are not truly mine at all. They are His. I can't protect them from pain or heartache. I can't mend their broken hearts. But thank God I know the Man that can—Jesus.