I've been thinking a lot about this question lately. First, there was the loved one that was very vocal to me against homeschooling. That has happened in the past with others I know, and it is never easy. Then I began working a temporary job.
Working outside the home for the first time in years, aside from volunteer work, has helped me in ways I didn't expect. It clarified for me what I have known for a long time. God called me to homeschool, and I must be obedient.
I am certain that I don't have all the reasons why God asked me to homeschool my children. I can guess at a few reasons, and I am sure that many of them are just as much about me as they are about my children.
Homeschooling isn't an easy path. Despite it becoming more accepted and mainstream in our culture, many still don't accept it, including many Christians. Homeschooling mothers often are made to feel that they can't homeschool their children because they aren't qualified. Homeschooling for "religious" reasons sometimes is seen as indoctrination of a dangerous sort. There are Christians that believe our children should be in the public schools to be lights for Jesus, and non-Christians that want our children in the schools, but don't want them to say the name of Jesus.
I've realized that pleasing people can't be a determining factor. Oh, I say that I don't care what others say or believe, but my hurt when the loved one was critical and harsh about homeschooling proves otherwise.
So, why do I homeschool?
What if this isn't about me or my children? What plans could the Lord have for my obedience? My children still have the free will to go their own way. There is no guarantee that by homeschooling my children will love Jesus and serve Him. The sacrifice and dedication to homeschooling, with Christian materials and time in the Word and hours of prayer doesn't guarantee my children will love the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul, and actions.
What if this is all about Him? What if He is showing me all the things I never learned when I was raised in a non-Christian home? What if the seeds I plant in my children by those mornings spent studying God's Word and using God-honoring materials and praying and living simply... what if? Maybe my children will love Him and have a close relationship with Him, our Lord? What if He has plans for us that I can't see right now?
If I believe Jesus died on a cross for not just the sins of all, but my sins, then wouldn't it be worth it to sacrifice for even one of my children?
What if God has bigger plans than just helping my ADHD daughter learn without medication? What if God sees more than curriculum choices and schedules? What if He sees my grandchildren, learning about Him by the children I teach now?
I have many reasons for homeschooling. My temporary job has shown me how much I love homeschooling and it is a part of me. I may give reasons for homeschooling such as my youngest's ADHD, or bullying in the schools, or teachers not able to give one-on-one attention, or rampant testing, or secular and evolutionary ideas, or hostility towards Christianity in the schools, or peer pressure. The truth is, these reasons may support my belief that I should homeschool, but they don't always go deep enough to withstand the pain of rejection by loved ones, or the struggle when a child is apathetic to the Lord, or the daily grind of teaching, or the financial struggle that comes with living on one income. Homeschooling gives plenty of opportunities for feeling inadequate or like a failure or burnt-out.
Homeschooling that lasts through the ups and downs happens when parents feel called by Him to this path. It lasts when parents know God has asked something of them that, often, makes no sense to those that don't homeschool. Sometimes it makes no sense to me, and I've homeschooled for years!
Despite homeschooling's growth, and the statistics that prove it is beneficial, the majority of children in the United States are still educated in public schools. Homeschooling is still in the minority, and public sentiment often relates that view harshly.
For example, if a teacher is abusive to a student, the teacher is to blame. The public school system doesn't crumble, even under the weight of many abusive teachers discovered each year. If a homeschooling parent is discovered to have been abusive, all of homeschooling is to blame and the news and politicians all weigh in publicly. Opponents of homeschooling often use a situation that isn't common to generalize all of homeschooling.
The best way for homeschooling to thrive in my home is to remember that God called my husband and me to this path for His reasons. I probably won't always understand why that path is so challenging. It can be hard to see what He has in mind for my family when we are living off of one income and trying to keep the bills paid and everyone fed. There are days when I must encourage myself or find others that have walked this path and know the struggles.
Yes, homeschooling is the most rewarding thing I've ever done next to being a wife and mother. Don't think it all consists of hard times. And my relationship with the Lord is much stronger than it probably would have been if I had not spent daily time with Him, sometimes because my children had a lesson. I have learned more than them, I'm sure!
He called me, and He has promises that I stand on! His ways are not mine and His plans are sometimes ones that I see only bit by bit. When the world seems against me, when I have one of those days where frustration builds, when I am discouraged, I remember that I am called.
I love the quote that says, "No one said it would be easy, but it will be worth it."
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