The Homeschool Test

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Ray and I are in Oklahoma City for the Oklahoma state homeschool convention. Yesterday we toured the Oklahoma state capitol.

We huffed and puffed from the back side of a parking lot to get inside before the first tour started at 9:00 a.m. The volunteer tour guide was sitting behind a counter when we entered the visitor center a bit breathless. To our joy, we didn’t miss the tour. He had just learned that the tour group he was expecting had canceled. Ray and I enjoyed being a tour group of two.

In our travels for Notgrass History, folks we meet at historic sites ask where we are from and why we are wherever we are. When we mention homeschooling, people often tell us of their personal experience with homeschoolers. Our guide had a favorable impression with a homeschooling family he met at church. He and his wife became virtual grandparents to the children.

After we three entered the elevator, a nicely-dressed woman got on. I noticed that she was wearing a pin that was an outline of Oklahoma in rhinestones. The tour guide introduced her to us, as a former lieutenant governor of the state. When she learned that we were here for the state homeschool convention, she offered us her experience with homeschoolers, too. While she was in the state legislature, her district had about 400 homeschoolers. She said that they were good at keeping her informed about the responsible way they homeschooled.

Before we parted, I noticed that in addition to her rhinestone Oklahoma pin, she was wearing a necklace. It was a pretty cross made of small pearls. During our tour, the House of Representatives went into session. Several people had gathered in front of the door into their chamber, as we were about to pass by. Ray noticed that their heads were bowed in prayer. They listened to someone leading a prayer on a monitor. I assume that he was the house chaplain of the day. He prayed a beautiful prayer, mentioning Jesus several times.

I am always encouraged when I see Christian faith in a public place.

When the prophet Jeremiah prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah, he warned them again and again to turn back to God. He tried again and again to encourage them not to trust in and follow people, but to follow God. The scripture below is one of the many messages that God gave to Jeremiah to tell the people of Judah. God was telling them whom to trust and whom not to trust. I am thankful that we saw evidence yesterday of people putting their trust in the right place.

At the end of the school year, many children take tests to see how well they learned what was expected of them this year. The tests are supposed to measure how well a school or teacher is preparing children for their adult lives. I propose God’s words to Jeremiah as the best test to see if our children are learning what they need to be successful in their futures.

Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.
Jeremiah 17: 5-8

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