While life was hard, we still schooled. We just did it very differently.
As my dad’s illness progressed
quickly, the importance of spending quality time with him became
more important than keeping up
with schooling. God brought a desire to my heart to show my daughters a different kind of lesson and
that was one of serving others. Dad
lived in our house until the day he
died. My kids learned in all those
months how to care for someone
who was very ill. They kissed my
dad’s bald head and hugged him
and told him they loved him. They
read books with him, and we also
did a number of lessons in The Mystery of History together. Even after
my dad lost the ability to speak, he
still fumbled through the pages of
his Bible in search of the perfect
verse to share with my kids about
what we had just studied. It was
awesome!
When Dad couldn’t feed himself
or when he had food dribbling down
his face, the girls learned to help feed
him or gently wipe his face. When
his final days on earth were here, my
kids and their cousins boldly stood
at the foot of his bed and sang to
him. They held his boney hands and
they kissed his sunken cheeks. They
told their grandpa how much they
loved him and they spoke of the lessons he had taught them. Lessons of
God’s grace, mercy and love.
While life was hard, we still
schooled. We just did it very differently. Math and reading happened
some days, but our main focus became our family and the place the
Lord had us at that moment—smack
dab in the middle of my dad’s illness.
Dad needed his family, so we studied
life lessons that taught strength and
character. My kids learned how to
be compassionate and caring in the
most difficult of circumstances. They
watched as our family did their best
to glorify the Lord. But most importantly they learned that God has a
purpose in everything and that He is
always good.
Catherine didn’t plan for her school
year to go in such a direction, but God
did, and she is thankful for the refining
He has done in their family as a result.
The lessons learned this year by their entire family are life-changing and lifelong.
And then there’s Dana, who has been
homeschooling her four children for the
past ten years. Last year her sister’s chil-
dren suddenly came to be in her home,
and she instantly had three new students.
Dana had to rethink everything, includ-
ing the curriculum she had chosen for
her own children. She’s had to relinquish
control and learn to listen to God:
Yes, I have had to learn to depend on
Him. Homeschooling alone will do
that to a person. But it takes the tri-
als and harder times to really cement
what you know is true. That the one
true God is dependable, in control,
and will write on your page what is
His best for you.
And that’s always the key, isn’t it? In
the toughest, most trying times, when we
feel we cannot possibly do what God is
calling us to do, He refashions, remakes,
rewrites, and redeems. We have to remind ourselves that in and above it all
stands the God Who loves us more than
we will ever love ourselves or each other,
and that He has written our stories for
His glory. Our plans are good if they are
a means to an end, but if they become the
means that undo us because we cannot
rejoice in the afflictions that change the
course of those plans, we are in bondage
to a dream of homeschooling that was
never God’s intention.
He loves you unimaginably, and maybe
most especially, because when you are
weak, He is strong.
Deuteronomy 7:9: “Know therefore that
the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a
thousand generations of those who love
him and keep his commandments . . . .”
Kendra Fletcher is the homeschooling
mother of eight, aged 19 down to 4. She
has never known what it means to homeschool without the presence of preschoolers
and loves to encourage other moms who
are beginning their homeschool journeys
with little ones underfoot. Kendra reviews
for the TOS Homeschool Crew and is the
author of a popular E-Book about creating
a Circle Time for your homeschool. Her
website and blog can be found at www
. preschoolersandpeace.com.
Homeschool Mom Turned Special
Needs Author!
We write Social Stories and Unit Studies for
preschool through 2nd grade special needs
kids…Autism, Developmental Delays,
Asperger’s. Titles Include:
Teaching Jeremiah – A Complete
Preschool Curriculum
And God Saw That It Was Good – A Unit
Study on Creation
Community Helpers Unit Studies
Curious George
Dr. Seuss
Eric Carle Unit Studies
In the Belly of a Whale – Jonah’s Lesson
In Obedience
And much, much more!
We are also available for
engagements. Topics Include:
speaking
Homeschooling A Houseful
Getting Out from Behind That Desk
Teaching for Eternity – What Matters
Most
Picture Cards for Everyday Use
Contact us at 813-454-1998 and visit us
at
www.graceboundbooks.com for
more information.
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