Tuesday, January 10, 2012

"Oh, I could never homeschool..."

My fellow homeschooling mom, Kristy, from Little Natural Cottage wrote a post yesterday entitled "Why I'm Not Cut Out to be A Homeschooling Mom." (read it here.)

When I read it, I had an immediate "Amen!" reaction to what she said.

It intrigues me when people, upon finding out I homeschool our kids, tell me some variation of "Oh, I couldn't do what you do, I'd go crazy with my kids all day..." as if I am somehow more patient and less prone to insanity than they are...

Truth is, I'm just a big old mess. Shocking, huh?

I'm impatient...
Just like everyone else, my patience unravels by the end of the day. After escorting Little One back upstairs for "quiet time" for the 23rd time (I'm not kidding either. This really happened yesterday.) my "stay in your room, please" was a bit less gentle than the first 5 or so times.
image courtesy of idea go freedigitalphotos.net

I get frustrated...
When Little Man completely forgot how to multiply over the week off at Christmas, I freaked out...just a little...

I war against my selfishness...
And when Precious Girl came downstairs at 10p.m. telling me she finished reading the book I had 5 days worth of elaborate lesson plans for (for the 2nd day in a ROW)...steam rose from my ears...


You see, my Super Hero cape (you know the one people seem to think I have as a homeschooling mom) doesn't confer any sort of super patience, gentleness or kindness on me. Truth be told, my cape would probably look like a slightly worn and tattered pink bathrobe and be just about as effective at holding back the forces of evil in my home.

My natural tendency is to be selfish and horrible. Are you shocked? You shouldn't be. I am only human. And I am most certainly NOT supermom.

I would love to have some "free time" to myself...
although, I'm not sure I even understand those words, "free time" but it sounds lovely...
...and yes, there are days when I fantasize about sending little people on that Big Yellow Bus 
and having a whole day to sit and read scriptures and do a Bible study
and finally start some of those projects I've wanted to do ...

But, homeschooling isn't about me. 
It's actually not even about my kids. 
It's about God and honoring Him first in our home.

Truly, the "super powers" some seem to think Homeschooling Moms possess, come in the form of constant prayer and from the very love-worn Bible that I start my day with. I am NOT cut out to be a homeschooling mom, and neither are you UNLESS you are willing to humbly allow God to mold you into one.
image courtesy of graur razvan ionut freedigitalphotos.net
That involves a rather lengthy process of sanding rough edges, refining, and repentance...

I'm still being molded. It's not always easy, but it is always worth it. I still war against my flesh, but victory will come...

And even on the days when I just want to run out of the schoolroom screaming, (am I the only one who has those?) I'm glad we're doing this. And I wouldn't change it for anything,

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stopping by from Titus2Tuesdays...

Yeah, as a former homeschooler, I know my mom got those comments too. What I've realized about them is that I just think that we can't conceive of a life different than our own. When I meet a working mom, she inevitably says, "I could never stay at home all day with my kids." I don't understand how working moms do what they do because it seems like it would be difficult to me. When we decided to have a third kid, we heard, "I don't know how you can have more than two kids." I know that my inlaws don't understand how anyone with a large family can possibly love and give attention to every child. This is where it's good to get to know people in all walks of life and in all situations!

Anonymous said...

Great post! I agree with you ~ I'm not cut out to do it, but God has called me to be here now doing this and I love to walk the path He has laid out for me. I only wish more Christian mothers would hear/answer His call instead of the call of the world.

Keri at Growing in His Glory said...

What an inspiring post for me as I make my list of excuses why I'm not cut out to homeschool! Ha! But you are exactly right! It has nothing to do with me or even with my children; it's about honoring God. Thank you for that reminder and little jolt to my selfish ego. Blessings!

younglivingoillady.com said...

Thank you so much for sharing! Such a beautiful post! It is amazing that we, as homeschool moms, all seem to have a similar story. None of us are equipped, yet, all have been called by God, thus in obedience to Him, we do. It is by His love and grace we do what we do. I appreciate your inspiration to us homeschool moms. Together, we can do it, through the power of His Holy Word. Bless you! Carrie at younglivingoillady.com

Kristi Slattery said...

Thank you all for your encouraging comments! : )

Kristi

Unknown said...

Loved this! Thanks for linking up!

Followers