We Need Grace -- Because Real Life Isn't Always Fun

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Corinthians 1:3 NASB).

How's your school year going?

I hope you are having a joy-filled, lovely year with your children. Those dear ones that God has blessed you with, who fill up your home with love and laughter and messes. The ones you prayed for and are thankful for and are grateful for the chance to have at home with you to educate in the ways of the Lord.

But sometimes it isn't easy, is it? And it can be downright hard. Maybe you are discouraged and feel frustrated and are wondering whether you made a mistake in choosing this home educating path.

Can I tell you something? You are not alone.

Even the seasoned (that sounds better than older) homeschooling moms still struggle. Not just with balancing things or with keeping the house clean, but also with wanting to ring the necks of their precious blessings on occasion.

Maybe you are stuck in the cycle of the "shoulda's." Or maybe you have fallen into the terrible pit of comparison, and you have been spinning your wheels and wringing your hands because you don't feel like you are doing it "right." 

Well, that is just a big, fat lie.

We are all different and unique for a reason. God didn't want a cookie-cutter army of robotic people who march to the same drum beat. If He did, He would have made us all the same. That goes for our gifts and our style and our way of doing everything. Including how we teach our children.

But it is so tempting, whenever you feel less-than, to look up at a certain mom and judge yourself as failing, or to look down at another mom and judge yourself a success. Please stop judging.

When you go there, you forget your first love. We can't judge each other and build each other up at the same time. And it rubs off on our kids in the form of bad attitudes and pressure to perform.

"Let’s not trample what we’ve been given in order to get to what we wish we’d got." 

The biggest thing you learn from homeschooling (if you haven't learned it yet) is that we are always teaching our children something. And the greatest lesson we can teach them is about grace: His amazing grace, grace undeserved; showing grace, giving grace.

And the biggest grace-challenge is to be gracious to ourselves. Because life isn't always fun, and we need grace to get through each day!

{{{Just a little cyber-hug, in case you need it today. }}}

Grace to you, all the home educating mamas (and papas) out there! You are doing a great job!