The other day when I was walking down the hall of our bonus room I stopped for just a brief second and saw my sweet Jack sitting at the homeschool table working away on the math assignment that I gave to him a bit earlier. It was a worksheet full of subtraction problems, something new he’s learning, and as I stood there I saw him sweetly counting on his fingers, giving himself a sweet “you can do this Jack” pep talk and getting SO excited when he subtracted 7-2.
My heart felt so full at the moment. I’m realizing that in THIS season of my life, I need MORE of that. Y’all, homeschooling children is crazy hard. If you homeschool then you already know that and experience it on a, I’m pretty sure DAILY basis, but if you don’t then yeah – it’s hard.
Every day I find myself saying a little prayer for the Lord to give me the: patience, willpower, wisdom and just plain JOY to do it. I’m not gonna lie – it’s not always done pretty. It’s not always done before other things that are less important. There can be arguing, some hurt feelings and honestly some bribery (did I just say that?!), but every day it gets done and at the end of the day I take that deep breath in and remind myself that I am doing good work. It might not be perfect, it might not be how I want it to be exactly or how I thought it would look, but it’s good, good work. Stopping and snapping this shot reminded me of just how blessed I am to be able to teach my children.
Yeah, it’s a super important responsibility and sometimes the weight of that responsibility paralyzes me with fear, but I am doing it and they are growing and learning and well – we haven’t killed one another yet and we are continuing on and good work is being done. I oftentimes feel the Lord with me as I guide my children and share with them important lessons from the Bible and values that we, as a family have, and hold onto. To see their eyes light up when they learn something new or master a new craft is amazing. It fills me up SO much.
It’s one of those feelings that I wish I could bottle up and replay when we’re having a hard day or I’m struggling to find the strength to teach at all. That’s why it’s important to stop and truly SEE what is going on during our day. That’s what this picture reminded me of on this day – good things ARE happening despite me feeling inadequate at times. Good things are happening despite how the kids would rather continue to play instead of doing math. Good things are happening amidst the craziness, the loudness and the messiness of it all.
Good things are happening and God sees it.
It’s time that I see it more.
Ina
January 24, 2017 at 3:48 pmSo true. We are on year 2 of homechooling little boys. Because of our respective jobs, it is Dad who stays home and Mom who works. But we have been blessed to do this and hope the fruit will be seen in the years to come in our family’s life. My sweet husband has been struggling to teach our 8 yr old to read. Such joy now after many tears to see him beginning to read level 2 and 3 books. Much respect for all the homeschooling parents! God is indeed watching.
Kristina
January 25, 2017 at 7:19 pmHi Ina! Thank you so much for commenting! Yes – it IS so hard, no matter which parent does it. Not for the faint of heart for sure. Isn’t it so wonderful to see them and hear them read? One of my favorite things! It’s SO hard, but SO worth it. There is beauty in the struggle for sure and yes, God is watching!
Tracie Claiborne
January 24, 2017 at 11:50 pmLove this. It is hard to see the good when you’re in the midst of the difficulty of it and I cannot imagine homeschooling more than one!! Our homeschooling history goes like this: Kindergarten: this is so awesome, every day is a joy!!!!! First Grade: Wow, this is way easier than everyone said! So fun! Second Grade: This is a bit more work than last year but still fun. Third Grade: Oh dear Lord, please let this kid remember what 7×7 is just ONE FREAKING TIME! Fourth Grade: Totally screwed up last year, let’s start over. We can do this, we can do this. It’s a fight every day but we can do this. Fifth Grade: (switched from A Beka to My Father’s World) Happy days are here again! This is awesome! Sixth Grade: smooth sailing Seventh and Eighth Grade: Tough but doable, no fighting just work. High School: Tears some days, heavy workload, super proud of my child, worries about the future but approaching the finish line and knowing that every moment was worth it and I wouldn’t trade this time with her for anything. It is soooo worth it in the end! Thanks for the reminder!
Kristina
January 25, 2017 at 7:21 pmThank you, sweet friend! It can be hard to see the good in it while we’re IN it all. It’s so good to step outside of it and see a different perspective and I think that’s why I loved the Lord showing me so much through that one simple photo. It IS so worth it. So proud of you and Caroline! What a cool thing! The more into this I get, the more I worry I’m not doing enough, but I know that the Lord is guiding me and it will all be OK! Blessed to be able to do this. I know I was called to do it and that is what matters! Love to you, friend! Thanks for the comment! XO!