Photo by Autumn Mott Rodeheaver on Unsplash
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
I began homeschooling after my son finished third grade. On the last day of school in that season, he was like a little old man. He wasn’t sleeping, he was anxious and stressed all the time. It was no way to live as a nine-year-old.
Veteran homeschoolers told me that sometimes kids need a year to heal from life in a traditional school setting. With that in mind, I made things simple. We read armloads of good books. We took field trips every week. We cooked and baked and painted. We did a simple math curriculum. We visited every museum in our town on a regular basis. Homeschooling was like a beautiful spring washing over my family all year long.
Watching my son bloom was like someone handing me gold every day. There certainly were days I cried and days he cried. There were days I didn’t think I could handle math or the daily grind of it all. But the Lord was faithful to see us through that first year. We all learned so much and grew closer as a family. Witnessing the growth, love and confidence in my son spurred us on to keep going.
Now, so many years later, here I am homeschooling high school. With fear and trepidation, I ask myself, “why exactly do I homeschool again?” Suddenly things get real when I’m counting on this education to get my son into college or whatever his future plans hold. I pray the equipping will allow my child to pursue his dreams.
As I walked the year out, God began to shift my prayers from, “is it good enough?” to “God can You make it enough?” I asked God to fill in where I fell short. I prayed that God would show our family no matter how inadequate we are, that Jesus is all that matters. I asked God to show my child how to be a passionate and engaging learner. I rested and trusted that no matter what I did, it would never be enough, but we serve a God that is enough in everything.
Whether you have homeschooled since birth or are just beginning homeschooling, I know it changes everyone. Regardless of the education style and curriculums, we are all bound together out of a vast love. Because homeschooling is a process of the heart, the mindset of homeschooling takes on a nurturing that transforms in the process.
Homeschooling entrenched me deep into a life example of walking by faith and trusting in Him. I will never regret a single day of homeschooling. It’s stretched and blessed me beyond my wildest imaginations. It’s taught me so much about myself and it’s been an honor and privilege to homeschool beside some amazing parents. Having a front row seat to my son’s moments of discovery and learning have been a wonder beyond compare.
Whether you are virtual schooling, unschooling, hybrid schooling or traditional homeschooling by choice — I know many are choosing this path for the first time. If you are just beginning this journey, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
The secret of homeschooling is that it’s not about education. Homeschooling is about love. It’s lavishing and nurturing your family in such a way that shows them firsthand the love of the Creator. It’s exploring the world before us in such a way to see that everything points to Him. It’s showing our kids that having faith and walking it out is the very best thing. The fruits of homeschooling are an equipping in how to be strong, courageous, curious, Christian young men and women. If we can get the most important thing right — loving God first — then things begin to fall in place through the journey.
The secret of homeschooling is that it’s not about school at all. It’s about love.
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