He Will Direct Your Paths
Prov. 3:5-6
We have all probably heard the song
that Carrie Underwood so eloquently sings, Jesus Take The Wheel. How
many of us completely and utterly surrender ourselves to Him?
Whether we understand the why or not, that is exactly what we are
supposed to do. We will come to find that He works for the good of
those who love Him. By surrendering ourselves to Him completely, we
will come to find the many ways in which he is blessing us.
Recently my husband and I have decided
to embark on a homeschool adventure. Our oldest daughter is at the
age where she is to start kindergarten in the Fall. After prayerful
consideration and studying the Holy Bible we feel completely lead to
the decision we have come to – Homeschooling here we come!
His ways are not ours and ours are not
His, I have read this verse many times but with this decision it
smacked me right between the eyes. I retreated back into the think
tank or more accurately my “prayer closet” and, began then to
realize that public school would have been the spiritual death of the
spiritual life we have taught them to live. Remember God isn't
allowed in public school, and you know who that means is among our
children roaming the halls. In addition to that with the no child
left behind act, what sort of educational enrichment would they
receive? Sharpening the dullest crayon in the crayon box does not
make any of the other 63 any sharper.
Homeschooling began to enter our
thoughts and we started asking ourselves, why don't we do that? As
we tried to consider what the Lord would have us do, we put the
specific question aside so we could examine what the Lord has told us
to do, so that we could come back to our current question and tackle
it from a biblical base.
In the Bible, very early on, we read
how the Word of God is to be held in our hearts and practiced daily.
His Word is supposed to be meditated on, talked about, shared and
lived. His Words are the light unto our feet. How profound! In all
things we are supposed to consider God and His Word. We are to weigh
every choice and every decision with what we have received, His Holy
Word. C.S. Lewis has been quoted saying, “Good and evil both
increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you
and I make every day are of such infinite importance”. Amen.
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 spoke so clearly to
my heart in considering what to do about the decision we were making
in regard to home vs. public school. Here is the NIV of it;
“Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These
commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home
and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get
up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your
foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your
gates.”
How can I expect to fulfill this part
of scripture if I send my children off to public school for 6-8 hours
a day. It's simple, I couldn't. I am certainly aware of how the
public school system would not fulfill this part of scripture on my
behalf if I were to entrust the care of my children to them during
school hours.
The public school environment is like
ground that is infertile and, we are not to cast our pearls before
swine. God is being taken out of the pledge of allegiance and kids
are not allowed to carry Bibles, let alone pray. Evolution is taught
as truth despite that it was scientifically disproven decades ago.
Children are no longer taught about morals and virtues but are
instead counseled on being safe while being immoral, quite the
oxymoron isn't it. It's the same as asking children to play with
fire and telling them to not get burned.
Knowing this I could not in
good conscience remain true to our faith and values and send our
children into such an environment. It would be like seeking a
babysitter only to find one who says they will come to your house but
will not keep an eye on your children. In that context it would be
more than foolish, it would be negligent to allow such a sitter to
watch over your children and, in such a situation you had better head
to the drawing board to find another solution, one that is viable.
Take this analogy and remember the sitter in the scenario is public
school. In light of this my husband and I found ourselves on our
knees many times.
Homeschool on the other hand is a place
where children can grow not only intellectually and socially but also
spiritually and emotionally. Why should a parent ever be willing to
sacrifice their child's spiritual growth for intellectual and social
growth? I hope the answer is obvious, spiritual growth should never
be sacrificed. The vine will bear no fruit unless it remains in the
tree. By homeschooling children, they receive intellectual
advancement beyond their public school counterparts because there is
no such thing as the dullest crayon, there is only a lifelong love
for learning and a quest to continuously seek and find. By
homeschooling, there is intellectual growth with no ceiling. There
is social enrichment where children are able to take field trips
together, play together and enjoy other christian companionship
without being told they are to sit in a room with their peers and
remain eyes forward, seated and silent.
Most importantly, in
addition to the academic and social benefits to homeschool the
spiritual benefits are numerous to say the least. The homeschool day
is conducive to God, prayer, and His Holy Word, it encourages
children to continue walking in faith, training our children up in
the way they should go as we are told to do in scripture. As for me
and my house, we will serve the Lord our God and, where he leads, we
will follow.
In seeking His will for our family we
have been lead in a direction that we had not previously considered
and, in walking in faith we are putting God first. We are trusting
in His perfect will. We are thrilled to begin our homeschooling
adventure knowing God is at the wheel, for we can do all things
through Him, who gives us strength. Just as God has brought us to
this road, may He bless our path as we step out in faith and, begin
our homeschooling journey.
Are you at a crossroad? Are you currently trying to make a decision? Unsure maybe of what to do or how to decide? Commit yourself to reading the Bible, finding biblically supportive mentors and, seeking His will through prayer. I pray God may be the lamp unto your feet and the light unto your path.
May God Bless You
