I decided to participate in the Heart of the Matter Online Meme this week. The topic today is: The Things Your Child Taught You During Homeschool.
The greatest and most difficult lesson that my children have taught me is to see my sin reflected in them. You know those incidents when you say, "Where did s/he get that from?" And then, if you honestly reflect, you find that s/he got it from you! It might not display itself in exactly the same way, but the root issue is the same. I hope that this is something I would have learned regardless of my children's educational setting, but constant companionship seems to sharpen my vision. My husband and I often recognize sin issues in ourselves when praying about and dealing with a child's disobedience or ungodly character traits. It is very humbling.
Homeschooling has definitely helped me learn flexibility. I love order, schedules, routine, you name it! I still enjoy putting together a skeleton of order for our days, but I am much more relaxed than I used to be when things don't turn out my way. I've also learned to recognize that my way is not always God's way. Well, I should say that I am learning to recognize this. :-)
I just thought of another lesson that I am learning by homeschooling: the value of time. There is only so much time in the day, we only have our children so long, and we only have a certain number of years in our lives. The world says to live life to the fullest on your own terms. Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." I want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that I use the time I have wisely. I want to be available for God's use, whether that is in my family, community, church...wherever, as long as I am in His will.
It seems that homeschooling is full of lessons: perseverance, patience, humility, increased sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.... Although I have been homeschooling for 8 years now, when I look at this journey as lessons to be learned, it feels like I have just begun.
This meme definitely caused some introspection on my part. If you want to participate, go to Heart of the Matter.
~Andrea
I know exactly what you mean about recognizing our own sin issues in our children. When I worked on not getting angry often, I noticed that my son's anger issue got better, too.
http://ellenfunlearning.blogspot.com/
You've been in my home, haven't you? LOL So true and honest. Great post! Thanks so much for sharing your heart. And you have such a beautiful blog.
Kysha
http://humblemama.blogspot.com
The thoughts of a book-loving, home schooling wife and mother who wants to be available to serve her Savior in her family, home, church, and wherever He chooses to send her.
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