Oct. 30, 2008 - Following the School Bus
{originally posted in January 2007, I am giving it a bump because it blessed my soul to re-read it!}
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I was on my home from the gym this morning at 6:30, when I had to stop behind a school bus with it's flashing lights. It was stopped in front of a home, picking a child up for school. I repeat, it was SIX-THIRTY A.M.! It was at that very moment that the Lord gave me some insight into a world I was unfamiliar with. My heart was grieved for the little one who meandered out the front door of his home, into the cold and the dark. He would spend at the very least, the next hour on a bus, being carted around town to be dropped off a school just a few miles from his doorstep.
I also thought about my own children - at home, snuggled warmly in their beds, still dreaming. Where children aught to be at 6:30 in the morning! I have never been able to imagine sending my little ones off to the hands of strangers. Even before the Lord so mercifully saved me and even before we had children, we knew we would homeschool. My heart grieved for those little ones having to get onto that bus this morning. Who would be tending to not only their minds but their hearts today?
You know the excuses. I can't be the only one that has heard them. "Ours is a 'good' school system!" Uh-huh. We live in small town America - in a little community of 2,500, nestled between two Amish communities. And in our little town with it's 'good' school system, they have just instituted random drug testing for both teachers and students because the drug problem is so severe. A few weeks ago, a middle school teacher was arrested and led out in handcuffs. A basketball coach was suspended pending an investigation into a situation between himself and a student. Teen pg is out of control. An elementary school student brought a gun to school last month. They evacuated the high school 2 months ago for a bomb threat. Want me to go on about our 'good' school system.
Parents need to get their heads out of the sand. They seem to have the mentality that it was good enough for them so it's good enough for their children. Tell me, why would anyone want 'good enough' for their children? And what may have been 'good enough' when they were children is not the same situation today.
How about "I want them to be salt and light." That one just makes me want to puke and it must stink in the nostrils of God. In the first place, I have never heard a parent say that, that was first salt and light themselves. Never! And secondly, the Lord does not expect our little ones to go into a godless world and be salt and light. What? you ask....I can prove it. Get out your King James Bible and turn to Psalm 1. It talks about the godly vs the ungodly man. I'm quoting from memory here so you'll have to find the exact verse yourself but it says
"And he shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season......"
tell me, when does a fruit tree bear fruit?? When it's MATURE! When our children our young, it's time to train. It isn't fair to expect out of our children what they are not capable of handling. Now I'm not saying that God can't and won't use a child. We see in His Word that He can and will. Look at Samuel, David and the boy with the loaves and fishes. I'm just saying that it's a lame excuse for a parent to shirk their God-given responsibility off on a godless institution under the guise of them being 'salt and light'.
Well, I'll get down off my soapbox now. As I started typing this, another bus drove by the house, it's lights flashing and I was reminded again of how blessed I am to be a mom. Our homeschool surely isn't perfect but at least my little ones are HOME where they belong!
Have a blessed day......and go hug your children :)
Comments
Feb. 9, 2007 - Hello!
Posted by melarooski
Hi! I came across your blog a while back but never left a comment! So I thought I would let you know I've been here!
I am homeschooled and am very blessed to be so! I went to private school for kindergarten and first grade and then we started homeschooling and have been doing so for almost 8 years! I don't know what I'd do if I had to start GOING to a school again! ;-)
I hope you don't mind that I've added you to my friends list! May God bless you, your family, and your blog!
Sincerely, Melanie/Melarooski
Feb. 11, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by babymakers
It is nice to see I am not the only fanatical person around!!!
BTW To this post I have to say- Amen!!!
Also, there is that verse in the OT that says something like teach (or is it instruct??) your children when you are lieing in the way or standing.... I can't remember how it goes either...but it makes it clear you are to teach your children all the time. Parents can't do that if their children are in the public or even Christian school for that matter.
Feb. 14, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by 5boys2girls4now
I had to come see your blog of course. First off, congratulations on your maybe pg. One of my close friends has PCOS among other things and she was able to conceive twice in 3 years w/out drug/hormone therapy intervention.
We are of the same opinion that children should be sleeping at 6:30am not hopping on a bus. Here the elementary bus picks up at 7:30 and drops off at 4:30pm. If I remember correctly, for us, school was from 9-3:30 (6.5 hours) not 8-4 (8 hours).
