Has your homeschool Arrived?

Most moms I meet are worried or stressed. They worry about schedules, viagra buy children, and chores. They stress about not doing enough, discipline, curriculum and what other families are doing. They aren’t living a joyful life. Clearly, they aren’t living much of a life at all.

The truth is, I often find myself slave to this trap. You know why? Because I’m not perfect and it is so easy to get caught up in a whirlwind, wondering:

What if I tried this schedule? What if I tried this curriculum? What if I did it like this family? What if I did this, went here, or read that?

Would I finally be satisfied? Would I ARRIVE?

The answer is NO.

It is the classic grass is greener syndrome. No matter how many times I change curriculum, try to pattern myself after someone else, or read just one more homeschooling guru’s book, I will not be content.  Those are just surface things.  Before I rest at the feet of Jesus, I am just going to be restless.  In our family, we call this “The School of Mary”.

To put down our good work, lay down our busyness, and just sit at the Masters feet.  For no other purpose but to be near Him.  To see His face.  To hear His voice.  To feel His presence.  Our homes, our children, our blogs, our very lives will just be a list of words put together in story form.  We must first wait before the Lord in order to have purpose.

People talk of perfection, of having THE homeschool experience, but I am here to tell you, perfection doesn’t come this side of Glory. We are blessed with just a foretaste of perfection here on this earth. We are also blessed with enough imperfection to know we aren’t there yet. Every now and then, we will have a homeschool day that looks and feels perfect. Those days are encouragements.  They are lovely.

But those days are like the water Jesus spoke of to the woman at the well…they leave us thirsty again.  Always wanting more.  Trying to duplicate that day so we can say it was perfect.  Instead, we need to drink in the Living Water, realizing He is perfect, and all that we need.

 

I know what it is like to second guess every move you make in your homeschool day (Trust me, the planning for 8 can be overwhelming). I want to be certain I have the right curriculum, the right schedule, the right everything. But friends, if you are always right, there is no room for God.

As a homeschool mom, you will find your education has just begun and it will last until that last little one has graduated. Don’t stress over it, but see it as a chance to put your relationship with Christ to work! You can expect interruptions, frustrations, and other things that take time away from your actual homeschool day. It is school, AT HOME. You are not in a bubble. Life happens. It’s ok.

There will be rough days. Don’t let the rough days ruin the good of what you are doing. Homeschooling is a labor of love. It is work, but it is good work. The bumps may slow you down, but they should never to beat you down. So, put Christ first in everything. Take a step back and rather than analyzing curriculum and schedules, analyze your walk with Christ, and how your day falls in line with God’s Will.  Step away whenever you feel as if you are going to drown. Step away into your place of solitude. Pray. Rest. Be at the feet of Jesus. It is there you will find what you are looking for.  It is at His feet, you will arrive.