"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy," Jude 24 NASB
Last night was my retirement party. I have officially retired from homeschooling. For 12 years I have carried the weight of my kids education. Of course every parent feels some responsibility for their children's education, but to the homeschooling parent it can sometimes feel like Atlas carrying the world on his shoulders. God has been pointing me to this verse for awhile to remind me that He has kept me from stumbling and that I stand in His presence blameless and the that great joy is available to me. Last night I had a chance to experience some of that great joy.
At some point I will explain why we chose to put the kids in school at this time, but for now I am just wrestling with the joy of having been faithful and the sadness that my kids will soon be spending more time outside my house than inside my house. For someone like me who is still getting up to speed on the range of emotions, this takes a lot of emotional energy to process. (Let's remember, I am a science teacher by trade. Got some of the logical Spock stuff going on.)
But last night was so good. I asked a few dear friends to put together a full steak dinner and even asked my husband and kids to prepare short thank you speeches for after dinner. I invited the people that have helped me on the journey so I could take a few minutes to thank them personally for their support and encouragement over the years. My husband also put together a slide show of the kids over those 12 years and it brought back wonderful memories.
I felt very loved, honored and appreciated by all that went into the party.
The party was my idea because I knew I needed my friend's help to celebrate what God has done, but to also to help me grieve. I grew to love homeschooling and spending so much time with my kids. In each of the kid's speeches, they talked about snuggling with mom as one of the things they will miss the most. My second daughter just stood up and cried. She could barely even talk and eventually I just stood up and hugged her and said "you can tell me the rest later". It was so beautiful.
Homeschooling Mom or Dad, you are doing such an important work in your children's lives. It goes far beyond the math and spelling tests. You literally have a front row seat in caring for your children's hearts. To be honest, there were many days that it was a bit tricky to be both teacher and mother. It can be a real balancing act, but you are still the one who can bless like no other and be blessed by them in return.
I asked for the party also because I needed to be thanked for so many years of hard labor. I think that's the spirit behind most retirement parties; a simple Thank You. But I also wanted to say thank you not only to my friends, but to my children. I ended the evening thanking each of my kids individually for the things that have taught me and how well they have loved me.
I hope you already know that homeschooling is a two way street. We love and pour our lives into our kids, but God is using them to love us too. I have learned so much from my kids. Important things like how to lighten up; love unconditionally, laugh more and give and get hugs daily. I'm glad they can all read and write and I am confident they are well prepared academically for public school. But who got the better end of the deal; them or me? The answer is both, and that is truly Another Homeschool Success Story.
