A square peg…and a round hole…

Is it possible? Can a square peg actually fit into a round hole? We have all heard this phrase and it makes perfect sense! It’s a no brainer really. What I’ve been learning, though, is when we follow the Lord nothing makes “perfect sense” anymore. It is comical because everything seems to twist and turn to where I can’t make sense of it. God does things in our lives that blow us away and the logic of life is thrown out the window. I have stopped trying to figure out what God is doing…..(can this square peg fit in that round hole?)….and just go with it. I am letting God be God and I just trust Him.

Almost three years ago, God nudged me to take my kids out of private school and homeschool them. We were struggling after the market crashed and the economy took a nose dive. There were only a few options financially we could see. I remember dismissing these thoughts over and over because I never ever wanted to homeschool!!! When I say “never ever” that is almost an understatement. I used to say to people, “You couldn’t pay me to homeschool my kids!! I want to leave that up to the professionals….that’s what we pay them for.” (For those of you that are teachers, I applaud you. It is not my gift and I am in awe of all my teacher friends.) I just couldn’t believe that GOD would want me to educate my own kids!!! Really Lord? I am unorganized and scatterbrained. I need lots of alone time to rejuvenate and being with my kids 24/7 would alter that. For someone who is not gifted as a teacher…..I would have started schooling my kids in Kindergarten, 3^rd and 5^th grades!!!! All these grades at once! Really Lord? Are you sure? Did I miss something? What about me getting a full time job to keep them at Grace? What about hiring someone else to teach them? Could my husband get a second job? So many questions were coming to mind. I wrestled with the Lord on this for three months! I prayed and prayed….I pleaded….I cried. It wasn’t that I was against homeschooling at all. It was all about ME. I feared messing up my kids. I feared failure. I feared what people would think of me….how would they respond….what would they say about my kids?

In my mind, God was trying to take this square peg and shove me into a round hole. Let me tell you, it was painful. I fought it every step. After three months of going back and forth with the Lord, I gave in. God brought so much truth to me….showing me that I needed to trust Him. He provided everything I needed to be successful. God gave me FREE curriculum which blew me away. He also gave me a sweet friend who had homeschooled for over 10 years! She was and still is a tremendous help and support. He showed me that if I leaned on Him, He would carry me through. God taught me that He made me with a purpose. I didn’t need to look like all the other homeschooling moms. I didn’t have to fit a mold. I needed to trust Him and He would use the gifts He has given me to best educate my kids. I can relax about it and enjoy the road of homeschooling with my God.

Whatever your circumstance in life are…..whatever place you are struggling….if you feel like you are a square peg being shoved into a round hole…..remember that WITH CHRIST ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. God may make you uncomfortable for a time. He may do some things in your life that are painful and hard to understand. But He has a great plan for your life and He will not ask you to do anything alone.

Proverbs 3:5,6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

If you are in that same process I was in of homeschooling your kids, let me encourage you with a couple things I have learned:

1.)  BE YOURSELF. School your kids with your own strengths and not someone else’s. For example, if you’re like me and NOT a morning person….start school later. We start at 10:30ish and it works for us. Some people start at 8am and that works for them.

2.) USE WHAT YOU KNOW. Everyone has gifts. Mine is art. Yours might be science or math. Use how God made you to teach and encourage your kids. I tend to be creative with every subject because that’s my bend. You might do labs and experiments more often. It’s all good no matter how you do it.

3.) PROTECT YOUR HOUSE. God has created us all different. He gave me my kids because He has a purpose for me and my husband raising them. He gave you your kids with that same purpose. You are not going to run your house the same way I do….and vice versa….because God made us different. So protect your house and the way you do things. Don’t let others thwart God’s plan for your family and your homeschool.

4.) GIVE YOURSELF FREEDOM. Homeschool will not look like “regular” school (as my 7 yr old calls it). It will look different. Give yourself the freedom to try new things….to take an afternoon off is your child needs it….to let yourself be imperfect…to ask for help when needed. Give yourself freedom to NOT BE SUPERWOMAN.

5.) LOVE YOUR KIDS. This is probably the biggest thing I’ve learned. Homeschooling your kids is such a special time between you and them. I have grown so close to my kids these past few years and I love it. I may not homeschool forever….so I am taking advantage of our time together.

Blessings to you! May the Lord move in such a way that you live life to your full potential!!!