What I Wish Someone Had Told Me
For the last few days, I’ve been thinking about how I can encourage you while you homeschool this fall. I thought back to 1990, when I was a brand new homeschooler and about what I wish someone had told me. I thought about what I would do if I were homeschooling this fall of 2021. This is the message that I needed to hear and that I hope will bless you.
Be grateful for this opportunity. Relish every minute you have with those precious children God trusts you to bring up. Every day with them is a present He has wrapped up and delivered with your name on it.
Try every day to do a good job–but don’t try too hard. These are your kids. You’re their mama. They need you. Your husband needs you. Probably most of you have living parents. You may have brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. All of you need each other. Be a family. Don’t let homeschooling keep you from nurturing the little people and the grown up people God has given you. Want your kids to stay close to you and their siblings when they grow up? Now’s your chance to show them how.
Choose curriculum and activities wisely. Use them as tools and not as a taskmasters.
Maybe you are homeschooling partly because you look at our country and world and worry about the chaos you see. You are not helpless. Actually, you are on the front lines doing something about it. You are training children to be light in the darkness. Thank you.
Hold on to what is good. As the apostle Paul told the Romans, “Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.”
When Jesus the perfect teacher was on earth, people were amazed that He taught with authority. You need to teach with authority, too, and you can if you center your own life and your homeschooling in God’s Word. Don’t buy into the wishy washy culture that says truth is always changing. Truth is real. Believe Jesus’ promise that you can know the truth and the truth will set you free. Truth is what you should teach your children.
Say yes to beauty and no to ugliness. God created much beauty. People made in His image have, too. Paul told the Philippians to think about lovely things. Enjoy God’s Creation, beautiful art, and beautiful music. Savor beautiful thoughts and words in wonderful literature. Learn about the events and people of the past. Learn from their triumphs and from their colossal mistakes. Emulate the good and steer clear of the bad. Enjoy time with people who make you grow and time learning God’s Word.
Sing with your children. Hold their hands. Cook with them. Walk through the woods with them and examine what is growing at your feet. Lie on your back and look at the stars.
Prepare your children to live purposeful, effective, holy lives now and eternally. Realize that you don’t have to do it all today, this week, or this year. Relish today. Trust God with tomorrow. Allow each of your children to learn and grow on his or her own timetable. Push them sometimes. Wait sometimes. Be patient with them all the time.
Pray and pray and pray. God wants you to succeed. As Paul told the Philippians, don’t be anxious about anything. Pray and plead about everything. Thank God and tell Him all of your requests. When Christians do that, His peace will guard our hearts and minds in Jesus. Pray. Plead. Be thankful. Tell God everything you long for and have a great year.
Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love;
give preference to one another in honor,
not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer . . .
Romans 12:9b-12