Oh those things you think you’ll never do! I was one of those people raised with traditional values in a very traditional home. I never, ever would have thought I would one day homeschool my own children. Not only did I not know any homeschooled kids growing up, once I became a mother I didn’t personally know any families who homeschooled their children either….Until long after I started homeschooling our girls.

Confessions of an Unlikely Homeschooler: Real Talk from a Real Mom
But hey, my husband and I always tended to march to the beat of our own drummer. Little trendsetters we were. Except no. Not so much.

 

Honestly, at the time we just felt like we kinda fell into homeschooling, only truly it was the Lord’s plan all along for us to homeschool our girls during each of the seasons of their lives we have done so. We have homeschooled both, and one, and then the other one. We try to follow the Lord’s leading before our own, and pray that we will not fall back into our natural tendency to want to be in control and do things by our own strength. Because, really, that just makes things that much harder.

 

And y’all. Homeschooling is hard enough already! Truly it is often a very draining, time-consuming, even grueling at times feeling endeavor. But other days it can be wonderful, and free-ing and downright awesome! Honestly, it’s just like any other area of our lives…. can’t just about everything we experience, at times alternate between awful and awesome?

 

Hahhha.

 

But really, there’s a reason for that. As much as we may crave escape when things get hard, the deeper purpose for the hard things is still there. And ya’ll? I know. Here I sit typing this, at the Panera one mile down the road from my house — having been encouraged by my sweet husband to take a break, after a long hard homeschooling day. Not every day goes down as this one did, but oh — this was not my favorite day ever.

 

In Isaiah 48:10 the Lord tells us, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.”

 

My lovely little “refiners” are waiting to welcome me back home the moment I walk back in the door. Today, they helped try me in the furnace of momentary affliction…. until I had to walk away in tears of exasperation. More than once. Yep, It wasn’t pretty! But oh how I love them both so much! And the thing is, we ALL have our qualities that try others around us. We may be His image-bearers, but not one of us is perfect, not yet. So, our good and wise God provides us the blessing of being in relationship with others, knowing that His children are not all the same. They will sometimes rub each other the wrong way, grate on each other’s nerves. Frustrate, sadden, disappoint and let each other down. See when that happens, that’s when we have opportunities to remember that we were never meant to find our final contentment and satisfaction in each other. And it needs to happen again, and again, and AGAIN. Because we forget… we just forget that God alone was meant to satisfy our every longing. And you know what? I think the sweet bursts of joy and delight found in connecting with our loved ones are just a bonus. He ordained those moments too… Because He loves us!

 

Charles Spurgeon said, “Had any other condition been better for you, than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. And you know what? I really believe that! That belief is not something that typically comes easily or quickly in one’s life — But the Lord who loves us? He sometimes allows these tender tests, these painful providences to grow and shape us into people that will one day look a whole lot more like Him. 🙂

 

Pretty in Pink

 

Jim Elliott once said, “Wherever you are, Be all there.” That is my goal. May we all wake up to those words on our tongues and in our hearts more often. Wherever we are, whatever our day looks like. Homeschooling, or hard at work elsewhere!

 

So tell me! Have you ever homeschooled? Considered homeschooling one day? I know I never did! Ever struggle with what educational decisions to make?  I know I often do! So lets talk about it below, in the comments 🙂