In Deut. 7:17-22 (ESV), Moses is addressing the Israelites on the eve of both his death and their entry into the long-awaited Promised Land.  What mixtures of joy and grief must Moses have felt as he anticipated his coming passage?  He said,

    "If you say in your heart, 'These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?'  you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.  Moreover, the Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you." 

This is a formula for us to adopt as homeschool moms, is it not?  We are looking at a long and arduous task: we are seeking to train and educate multiple children to the glory of God.  (What is conquering a few square miles of strange territory inhabited by hostile and terrifying enemies compared to that?! )  On top of that, many of us have relatives and well-meaning friends who are concerned about our choices.  They mean, very kindly, to set us straight, and this effort eats away at our confidence and faith.  To quote Gimli in The Return of the King, homeschooling looks like, "Certain death; small chance of success--what are we waiting for?"  BUT, sisters (and don'tcha love biblical "buts"?), GOD is with us. 

Dear sisters, GOD is with us.  Ponder that. The most awesome, majestic, powerful, loving, and kind being in the universe (and outside it) is with us.  He is a force to be reckoned with!  How grateful we should be, each day, for a Savior Who purchased our right relationship with the awesome and Almighty God! 

Take it another way:  God IS with us.  Do you realize that at any moment of the day, you can call on His Name, and He will help you right then, and right there?  He is with us: present tense!

God is WITH us. He is fighting for us in unsuspected ways.  (I mean, do you think the Canaanites thought about God using hornets against them?)  He is fighting for us in mighty ways, and in invisible ways that we will not even know of until we look back (either on earth or in Heaven).  I can already testify that, looking back, when He asked me to walk on water, and I took Him at His word and climbed out of the boat, the water was always solid beneath my feet.  As long as I kept my eyes on Him, I remained on top!  But I'm sure I remain unaware of a thousand mercies that He showered on me as I walked before Him in my homeschooling days.

And, God is with US.  We, in ourselves, are weak.  We are children who are growing up in the school of life.  Each trial in our lives -- big and little -- is an opportunity to glorify Him by trusting Him in the moment.  It is in the moment that our faith is displayed, to the glory of God.  In the moment, we either turn to Him or rely on ourselves.  In the moment, we either believe that He is good, near, with US, or we look at the forces arrayed against us and waver.

Note, too, that Moses told the Israelites that He would drive out the enemies slowly.   Why?  For their good!  "That wild beasts not grow too numerous for you."  Homeschooling is a journey.  It's a long walk.  And the "land" is vast, and populated with dangers, toils, and snares.  Yet, there are hidden dangers, too.  (Hidden to me; not to my loving Father.)  What are my wild beasts with homeschooling?  I can find most of them in my own heart.  What if I were quickly and easily successful in raising and training my children?  Wild beasts would appear to devour me.  What are they? Well, let me begin to count them: pride, self-centeredness, isolationism, arrogance, self-reliance, legalism, self-righteousness, ... on and on.  If I encounter success easily, other sins will grow to fill the place of my doubts, my fears, my self-pity, and my unbelief.  God has us in homeschooling as much for our sanctification and for our kids'.

Sin to the left, sin to the right.  My path through these years can only be discovered by holding tight to Father's hand and looking up to Him in trusting love.  He has chosen my path from before the foundation of the world.  It is His good pleasure to cause me to succeed as I look to Him; and, He has lessons to teach me when I cease to look to Him.  He has lessons to teach others when I look to Him and still find the enemies numerous and the terrain difficult.  But make no mistake: He is loving and powerful.  God is with us.  And mightier than those that now inhabit the land I am called to occupy.

Amen.  Let me go forth with faith, trusting Him to do all things in and through Jesus.  Let me be His handmaiden, watching Him work through me as I trust and obey.