Keeping On Keeping On
If you are like me, you get dry sometimes. You feel all out of fresh ideas. You feel weary of filling other people’s buckets and want someone to fill yours. It’s a tough place to be.
At times like these, I know that I need to go back to the fundamentals.
- God loves me.
- I belong to Him.
- He’s given me jobs to do.
And it’s time to ask myself: Just what kind of life do you want to live, anyway?
I want to be faithful to God, faithful to my husband and children, faithful in my service.
Sometimes it is simply time to study God’s Word, pray, and keep on keeping on.
During World War II, England’s prime minister was Winston Churchill. He was resolute. England would keep on keeping on. England would stand firm until the end, no matter how many countries Germany conquered or how many times its planes dropped bombs over English cities. By the time the Japanese shocked America by attacking Pearl Harbor, England was already in the thick of battle against Hitler. On December 6, 1941, Churchill visited his alma mater Harrow. In a speech to the boys, he said:
“. . . never give in, never give in, never, never, never–in nothing, great or small, large or petty–never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.”
This is good advice for every homeschooling mama. Keep on keeping on—or keep plowing on, as the saying goes. Jesus had something to say about plowing on. In Luke 9, while He and His disciples were going down a road, Jesus encountered people who gave excuses about why they weren’t going to follow Him yet. Jesus told one of them:
“No one, after putting his hand to the plow
and looking back,
is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62
Endurance is an essential trait for everyone. It is especially important for homeschooling mamas. It is also an essential trait to include in training children. I love how James connects endurance with joy. Joy is a gift for those who endure. It is also fuel for the endurance itself.
Consider it all joy, my brethren,
when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
And let endurance have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4
