Am I Cut Out For Homeschooling?

I took a five minute bathroom break. Big mistake. When I arrived back on the scene I was greeted with a roomful of markers that my eighteen month old had dumped out, a pile of flashcards that my three-year-old accidentally spilled and a puddle of water from a cup that had spilled off the table.

Nobody was being particularly malicious. It was just when I left to go to the bathroom, my older kids and I were on the edge of our seats wondering what was going to happen to the Merrimac in an intense history lesson. I tend to get into history sometimes. Maybe a little more than I should. Nevertheless, I was anxious to get back to the story and share the suspenseful tale with my older kids only to be distracted by, well, distractions.

It is in these moments that I ask myself, “am I cut out for this job? Am I cut out for homeschooling?” Onlookers and critics often say that they could never homeschool because they simply don’t have the patience. But do I? When I feel like I am at the end of my rope I wonder, “what in the world have I gotten myself into?!” But then I have to remember that homeschooling is a battle. It is war. A war for the souls of our children. No, I am not cut out for this job but the Lord can craft me into the women that He wants me to be so it can be done effectively. How do I know this? Well, for one, many others have gone before us, and succeeded. There are countless mothers who have chosen to sacrifice their time, energy and efforts for the sake of home educating their children and they not only survived but thrived. Secondly, I know I can do it because the Word of God says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength,” (Philippians 4:13).

When we look at those who conquered a difficult situation in the Bible, it is obvious that it was through God and God alone that accomplished it. The glory was not given to man, but God. For example, David. David refused to accept Saul’s armor but he trusted that God would help him defeat the giant, and he did. Then we look at Samson, who disobeyed God and allowed himself to be deceived, lost the only strength he had, strength from God.

Do we approach homeschooling from a David perspective or a Samson perspective? If we look at our past accomplishments in our children’s lives and in our homeschool and recognize that God is the one who did it then we are like David who gave God the glory for defeating the lion and the bear as a shepherd boy. If we forget to acknowledge God as our strength and our help, and let our guard down then we are like Samson, a powerful homeschool mom one minute and a defeated, beaten wreck the next. Pride can prevent us from living like David. It will cause us to become blind as Samson was because we think we can do it on our own and our own way. Though it is not an easy road, taking the humble and narrow road will lead to life. It will lead to a peaceful homeschool and powerful growth and change in our homeschooling journey.