The Greatest Leap

This is perhaps my favorite post of this 31 day challenge, not only because it completes the 31 days, but because it is about a topic that has always inspired me. Some of my biggest heroes are moms who have decided to homeschool their children, even though it did not come easy or naturally to them. In this blog post, I asked my friend Beth to share her journey to homeschooling. I hope you enjoy her thoughts as much as I did. 

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Journeying through life with the Lord is always wildly exciting and full of the unexpected.  Homeschooling was one of those crazy things that I never imagined for my family; and by family I mean myself.  First of all, homeschoolers are weird:  they wear jean jumpers and oddly strappy sandals; live in the woods away from the prying eyes of civilization; have hoards of offspring; and they always seem to be hiding from the realities of life.  Secondly, I am only one woman and homeschool moms have to do it all:  mom, wife, teacher, cook, maid, taxi driver, accountant, cheerleader—without any recognition.  Lastly, in order to homeschool, all of my personal ambitions would be placed on the back burner for an indefinite number of years.  I planned to send my kids off to school and start adding to the bottom line for my household budget.  I could finally do something I could be proud of so when an old friend or new acquaintance asked, “what do you do?” I wouldn’t have to fumble through an embarrassed stay-at-home-mom answer.

                So I sent my oldest two off to school according to plan and several things happened simultaneously.  I missed them.  They stopped being friends with each other.  They started saying things that they picked up from school that were not true, like “I’m stupid.”  They hated school and learning.  They spent a large amount of their time in school taking standardized tests instead of learning.  We spent hours every evening after school doing homework that included things I am terribly opposed to (common core math and sight words—waste of time!).  One night, as we struggled through a couple hours of tear-stained homework and cries of, “I’m too stupid to do this!”— I had an epiphany.  It only takes a few hours of homeschool each day total.  I told my husband, “I can public school, or I can homeschool, but I will not do both.”  And that statement launched the quest that led us teach our kids at home.

                As a believer, I always thought that it would take the audible voice of the Lord commanding me to homeschool my children in order for it to be the right fit for our family.  Up until this time, I sincerely believed that home-based education had to be a specific calling in order for it to be effective.  Then the Lord began to work on my heart.  He showed me the things that I knew I was called to.  I am called to raise my children to walk with Him to the best of my abilities.  I am called to lay down my own life to serve others, including my children.  And then He showed me the real reason I was always waiting for more “confirmation”.  I didn’t want to put forth the effort or take on the responsibility of homeschooling because it is hard work that requires sacrifice.  I didn’t want to deal with my kids all day every day.  I liked sending them away to get a break.  When I saw the wickedness hidden in my heart through my pro/con list to public school, I was convicted and asked the Lord to change my heart, renew my mind and give me wisdom.

                Here we are over a year later.  There are days that I want to send them all away for six hours.  There are days that one mess piles on top of another to the point that the laundry seems to rival Everest and the dishes are conquering the kitchen.  But more often there are days on which my kids play together for hours, creating their own science experiments or writing books together or my daughter teaching Baby School to her younger siblings to share with them her vast knowledge of the alphabet and counting.  My kids love learning and having responsibility for their own education.  My kids are friends with each other.  Our family bond is tighter than it ever has been.  I now understand what C.S. Lewis meant when he said, “The homemaker has the ultimate career.  All other careers exist for one purpose only—and that is to support the ultimate career.”  I am fulfilled by my work in the home, caring for and educating my children.  I can proudly tell people what I do and that I love it.  I never know what is around the corner because I go with Jesus, but I do know that He is faithful and trustworthy.  He refines, grows and changes me through homeschooling.  I even bought a pair of Birkenstocks.