Encouragement

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No doubt about it: being a homeschooling mom is hard work! What can make the job even harder is the fact that much of society is trivializing the role of mothering. Few people today value the position. Mothers are told that they are wasting their talents, suffocating their personalities, and forfeiting their futures. But is this really true?

I won't try to speak for others, but in my own life the opposite is true. My talents are being used to bless the lives of the people that I love most: those of my husband, children, family and friends. My personality is tempered and realized fully as I have ample opportunities to die to myself and find true joy in living for others. Instead of forfeiting my future, I am investing in it, with the love poured out into the present. I am raising children intentionally, realizing that their lives will affect the lives of others for many years to come, and that they are in fact eternal.

Though I know all these things to be true, I still face times of doubt, fatigue and frustration. One thing that I find tremendously encouraging is the fact that I have dear friends who have homeschooled many years, whose children's lives testify to the fact that homeschooling can have awesome results. I also try to read books, magazines and blogs that uphold the value of mothering and homeschooling. But I think the most important thing is the need for a vision.

It seems to me that most things that are really worth doing in this life are wrought with trials and difficulties, and the reason why people persevere is because of the belief that what they are doing is of eternal value and will have far-reaching consequences. The same holds true for raising and homeschooling children: knowing what my vision is can help me to see beyond and live above the daily trials and challenges I face. Having a vision can enable me to face the most difficult obstacles with joy, knowing that the outcome is more than worth the effort.

My vision is to raise up children who will be a light in the darkness, who will see the value of putting others first and caring for the needy. It is to raise children who have an unquenchable thirst for learning and discovery, and are equipped with the ability to find the answers that they seek. I want them to have the courage to stand for what is right and even to take risks when risks are called for. I want them to be diligent, purposeful and decisive. I want them to be wise in the face of adversity. And when it is time to send them out into the world, I hope that they will change it for the better as they interact with those around them, like ripples on a pond. That is my vision.

At times I marvel at the years of preparation needed to climb Mt. Everest: the training, the risk, the unbelievable hardships and trials and even suffering involved in reaching the goal. If others can overcome such obstacles to reach the top of a mountain, then, with God's help, I can overcome the daily trials of raising children to impact the world for generations to come!

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