The Review Crew Challenge topic this week is The Wonderful Blessings of God. There are so many different directions I could go with this post. Thankfully, inspiration struck this week in the strangest way. It came as a sign. Not a spiritual sign like a voice in the wilderness or a donkey talking to me, but it came as a literal sign. If you follow me on facebook, you probably know which sign I’m talking about.
The Sign
The Greenville Zoo in South Carolina posted a sign which depicted a mom with two little girls. The little girls were happy and throwing what looks like confetti into the air. There were books on the floor, and the mom was sitting with a book in her lap looking completely miserable. The sign read I Wear a Mask Because…I Wasn’t Built to Homeschool followed by Mask Up. Life is Waiting. I found this sign infuriating for many reasons, but mainly because the mom looked so miserable. In spite of the happy children, mom was miserable.
It bothers me that moms get portrayed as being miserable when they are with their children. As women, I think we need to stand up to this stereotype. I believe most of us view our children as a blessing. Even in the chaotic moments, our children are a blessing. Homeschooling is a blessing.
For the New Homeschoolers
I know there are many new homeschoolers out there right now, and I’m not going to pretend that there aren’t difficult and chaotic moments in this process. I am going to tell you that you don’t have to be miserable in those moments. Meet your kids in those spaces. If there is happy chaos, don’t fight it. You can join in the blessing of their chaotic happiness. In the difficult moments, you don’t need to fight those either. You can meet them in the difficulties too. Nobody is going to care about your kids as much as you, and being the one that gets to meet them in those difficult places is truly a blessing. Don’t feel like you are failing or not built to homeschool in these moments. There is nobody more capable of speaking into your kids’ lives in these moments than you. You are built to homeschool, even when you don’t feel like it.
Count Your Blessings
I totally understand that sometimes in the midst of the chaotic and difficult moments it’s hard to see how greatly blessed we are. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are blessed in the middle of all of this. It can be helpful to keep an ongoing list to remind us. I am going to give you a few reminders to help get you started.
When your toddler has an embarrassing meltdown of epic proportions in Target, and when a stranger complements you on how sweet and well-behaved that toddler is, you are blessed.
If you can’t seem to get up and get started on school before noon, and when you are all happily starting on your morning basket at 8am, you are blessed.
When your tweenager just can’t seem to understand how to multiply fractions, and when they get one hundred percent on a math test, you are blessed.
When a stranger or family member is concerned about your child’s socialization, and when your child steps up and leads a group of peers, you are blessed.
You are blessed in the difficulties and the victories. You are blessed in the chaos and the quiet. You are blessed because God is good in all circumstances and has equipped you for the calling of parenting and homeschooling. You are blessed because blessing comes from God and not circumstances. You are even blessed when you are insulted by a sign posted at a zoo.
I would love to continue this of blessings with your input. Feel free to add to this list in the comments below.
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children are indeed a blessing, and I don’t care much for that sign either… have you called them and questioned them on the appropriateness of it?
What a horrible sign! Our children are a gift. I appreciate your encouraging words.