Start Strong and Finish Well

A couple more days and we are back to school. Even though we don't technically "go" to school, contrary to popular belief we do actually "do" school. I have the total responsibility of being sure that my kids have what they need to graduate from high school and get into college if that is where the Lord leads (college, I mean - they WILL graduate from high school!).

Home schooling is quite different from - for lack of a better word, I will say traditional school. I could say "regular" school or even better "real" school, because those are the terms I often hear associated with what we do.

"When will you send them to real school?" The strangers in the grocery store line often feel compelled to ask.

Home schooling is our calling. In fact I believe with all my heart that it is the calling of many who are yet to "have ears to hear" - I have written numerous posts about that, and you are probably glad I don't intend to share it with you again.

What I do feel like sharing today is just a little encouragement for those of you reading you are starting your homeschooling journey this year. I have been talking with several of you who I know read this blog and I just want you to know that I am very proud of you for making this decision. The hardest part is done - you have made the commitment! Everything else falls in place after that, I can assure you.

As you start this new endeavor in your life, remember that it is a marathon, not a sprint. Your kids will not always cooperate. They will not always pick up their pencils and eagerly begin the lesson you assign. In fact, many times they will not be able to find a pencil! They will argue and fight and spill drinks and whine.

Some mornings you will be the grumpiest one of all and you will want to say - "let's just go to the park!" Go!

I can assure you that one "school" day spent playing at the park as opposed to arguing at home will not be the downfall of their education - and in fact, it may be the salvation of your sanity!

As you start down this road, especially if you have little children remember that it is not really important how you start, it is important how you finish. Let me clarify that a little bit. I have been home schooling more than a dozen years now. I have children at all three "levels" of classical education. I have an elementary age child, a middle schooler, and two in high school. What I used to teach my children to read is really not all that important. What is important is that they can read. A really good math curriculum is somewhat important, but there are many good ones to choose from. No matter how good it is, it will bring you no comfort on the hard days.

What is important is why you do this. The fruit that you will see in your fifteen year olds if you keep on keeping on is what is important. All young children are in the training stage of life. Your five year old will misbehave like any five year old and home schooling is not going to prevent that. However, your fifteen year old need not be an immature "teenager" that only cares about dating, being popular, and "hanging" out. There are plenty of fifteen year olds who are committed to their relationship with Christ, committed to complete purity, and who are making a difference in their world now, not waiting until they "grow up" to have any responsibility. I know this to be true because I have two of my own and they have a great circle of friends just like them. Your children walking in Truth is the end result that makes all the bad days worth it.

This is your why.

So this year as you start out, fresh and excited - don't get discouraged on the days that your best laid plans are shot to pieces by uncooperative kids and petty arguments. Remember that they don't "rise up and call you blessed" at age six because you made them complete their math assignment. Remember that this "cross" you have been called to bear is truly God pruning you - it will end up being your blessing, I promise. You will have no regrets, you will know you did the very best you could for your children and God will be responsible for the rest. He is always faithful.

Remember my favorite verse, and ask Him to give you one of your own to cling to. I'm sure He will.

Isaiah 54:13, "And all your children will be taught of the Lord, and great will be the peace of your children."