Life Doesn’t Stop for a Crisis
Life doesn’t stop to give us time for a crisis. That’s why Ray and I were “busy little campers” during our first two weeks at Hope Lodge.
Last year we at Notgrass History decided the time had come to update Ray’s high school Exploring Government course. After all, a great deal has changed in American government since we published the most recent edition in 2016!
Over the years, we have learned that it is a juggling act to determine the exact time to have one edition go out of print and another one ready to replace it. In 2022 we made the decision to inform homeschooling parents that we would soon sell out of Exploring Government. They could hurry to purchase one of the remaining sets, or they could plan to use Ray’s one-semester high school Exploring Economics during the fall semester of 2023 and then purchase the new one-semester Exploring Government for the spring of 2024.
Meanwhile, Ray worked busily to update the curriculum. The problem was that we made that decision before we knew that Ray would have his 2023 health challenges. The good news is that Ray worked heroically when he had the energy, and he completed his extensive update. The books have gone to the printer, and the printer’s expected shipping date is in plenty of time for families to use the new books in January.
However, in order to get the books to the printer to meet the date we had advertised, our team had to finish the proofreading/editing/correcting process during Ray’s first two weeks of radiation therapy, which was also our first two weeks at Hope Lodge. The pressure was pretty intense, but, as always, God provided sweet blessings. For those two weeks, Ray, John, and I spent hours and hours six days a week on Zoom. We tweaked, we corrected, we coordinated review questions and tests, we checked, rechecked, and checked again. When Ray needed to rest, John and I kept on keeping on and saved up questions that needed Ray’s expertise for the times when he felt like working again.
At a time when Ray and I could have been very lonely, we spent our days sitting in a Zoom room with our son, working together, laughing together, and enjoying each other’s company, just as we did in person right after Ray’s surgery in July.
No, life doesn’t stop for a crisis, but God keeps sending blessings amidst any storm.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our affliction
so that we will be able to comfort
those who are in any affliction with the comfort
with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
A humble request: If you have a student or graduate who has used Exploring Government and would be willing to send us a short written or—even better—video testimonial about it, we would appreciate it very much. Simply email me and I can let you know how and where to send it. Thank you.