The greatest and most difficult lesson that my children have taught me is to see my sin reflected in them. You know those incidents when you say, "Where did s/he get that from?" And then, if you honestly reflect, you find that s/he got it from you! It might not display itself in exactly the same way, but the root issue is the same. I hope that this is something I would have learned regardless of my children's educational setting, but constant companionship seems to sharpen my vision. My husband and I often recognize sin issues in ourselves when praying about and dealing with a child's disobedience or ungodly character traits. It is very humbling.
Homeschooling has definitely helped me learn flexibility. I love order, schedules, routine, you name it! I still enjoy putting together a skeleton of order for our days, but I am much more relaxed than I used to be when things don't turn out my way. I've also learned to recognize that my way is not always God's way. Well, I should say that I am learning to recognize this. :-)
I just thought of another lesson that I am learning by homeschooling: the value of time. There is only so much time in the day, we only have our children so long, and we only have a certain number of years in our lives. The world says to live life to the fullest on your own terms. Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." I want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that I use the time I have wisely. I want to be available for God's use, whether that is in my family, community, church...wherever, as long as I am in His will.
It seems that homeschooling is full of lessons: perseverance, patience, humility, increased sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.... Although I have been homeschooling for 8 years now, when I look at this journey as lessons to be learned, it feels like I have just begun.
This meme definitely caused some introspection on my part. If you want to participate, go to Heart of the Matter.
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Apr. 18, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Ellen
I know exactly what you mean about recognizing our own sin issues in our children. When I worked on not getting angry often, I noticed that my son's anger issue got better, too.
http://ellenfunlearning.blogspot.com/
Apr. 18, 2008 - Uh!
Posted by Anonymous
You've been in my home, haven't you? LOL So true and honest. Great post! Thanks so much for sharing your heart. And you have such a beautiful blog.
Kysha
http://humblemama.blogspot.com
Aug. 6, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
Thanks for sharing!! : )
Heidi
www.jhcckkm.wordpress.com
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