Ready for School

I'm not sure who is more excited for school to start, myself or my boys. For the past 18 months I have home-schooled our boys. It had been a decision that I felt the Lord calling me to make but I kept doubting the Lord. I would say "Lord, you must have the wrong mom because I CAN'T home-school my boys."

Things continued to get worse at their school and I felt like the teacher wanted me to sit with my 2nd grader for the entire day. Her curriculum didn't allow to give my child additional work or more difficult work because he finished the work faster than his classmates. During this process I learned that I probably shouldn't say NO to the Lord. He does know way more about things than I do. In frustration I threw my hands up and said "Okay Lord, you win. I will bring the boys home and teach them."



The first 6 months of home-school we finished grade 2 and grade 3. Feeling like I had accomplished great things with them during this time I was eager to put them in the private school that we chose. But again the Lord had different plans. I didn't know that soon after our school year ended we would be told we had to move out of our rental unit. Then began the quest for buying a house. That quest took care of all the money we had set aside for the private school. Feeling defeated with the process but trusting the Lord I knew I would have to home-school the boys for the next year.

In our new house and beginning a new school year I often said I'm not sure I would put them in private school for the 2010-2011 school year. I was teaching the same thing, if not more, and it didn't cost nearly as much as the private school would. I had been praying for the whole year that if I was supposed to continue home-schooling that our hearts would reflect that desire and that I would have peace of mind about it. We pushed on through the year and at the end of our school year the answer was clear.

Before the end of the school year our recent deployment ended. That added extra chaos to the mix. It was during that time that I felt God tell me that I served Him and my children as He had asked and now it was time to move forward. Once again I said "Are you sure?" You see, it's not that I don't trust the Lord. I do. It's that I don't trust myself. There are times I am not sure if it's the Lord trying to speak to me or myself making it up to fit my needs.

After more prayer and friends praying I knew the answer was to put the boys in private school. The boys are so excited to go to school. They are excited to have friends in class and they are most excited about the music program that the school offers. I am excited to have 5 minutes of peace and quiet to hear myself think without hearing "MMOOOOOMMMMMMM."

The boys will start school in about 3 weeks. The uniforms are purchased, school supplies are being bought and a new adventure is on the horizon. I have a great sense of accomplishment for our home-school days. Mostly I'm grateful to God for showing me the opportunity that I would have passed on. My boys were able to learn so much in a short amount of time. Not just academics but they learned a lot about themselves.  They no longer feel defeated by school and the work that comes. The boys meet the challenge head on and the know they are capable of great things. Knowing that the boys feel good about what they have achieved and what they can achieve is worth all the sacrifice and head banging I did during the school year.

If you hear a faint yelling on August 16th it's because I am home alone and I don't know what to do with the quiet so I am pretending that my boys are here. If you hear silence it's because I shed a tear in the amazing work that the Lord has done with me as a mother.