Homeschooling Needs A Why, Part 1
After you have made the decision to homeschool, it is important to establish your “why.” Why are you homeschooling? What is your reasoning? How do you explain your purpose? You need to have answers to these questions! “Why?” you ask.
Know your why in order to move forward with confidence.
If you have seen the movie, Finding Nemo, then you will remember the character Dory singing, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…” It is one of my favorite quotes of all time! This simple song has encouraged me in many circumstances, because it reminds me that when we feel like all is lost, we just need to keep going. We need to remember the quest, the purpose.
You need to know that as you travel this homeschooling journey, you WILL have days/moments when you feel inadequate, overwhelmed, discouraged, and perhaps even lost. You will ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” It is good to have an answer when you find yourself at this moment. Many jokingly call this a homeschool parent/teacher conference, but it often isn’t a funny place to be.
A quick answer to Why is to recognize that you are following God’s leading and calling. Write down and make a record of how you started this journey. Use this record to remind yourself of how He brought you to this place.
Even the Israelites who were miraculously brought out of Egypt needed to remember His leading as they entered the Promised Land. In Joshua 4, as the Lord again performs a miracle to allow the Israelites to cross the Jordan, Joshua directs each tribe to pick up a stone as they cross the Jordan and drop it off in a pile on the other side. Joshua answers their Why question before they ask in verses 6-7:
that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, “What do those stones mean to you?” then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” (Joshua 4:6, 7 ESV)
The stones were placed there to help answer the Why questions of the future. God knew that though they were entering the Promised Land, they would have days and moments of uncertainty. They would need to remember God’s leading when they faced the walls of Jericho or when they dealt with the manipulation of the inhabitants.
You will need your own remembrance stones in whatever “Promised Land” the Lord leads you. If He is leading you to homeschooling, then I encourage you to write down the miracles, the circumstances, the conversations, and the words that have brought you across this river.
Knowing your Why will help you keep moving forward with confidence even when the tough times come! “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7, 8 ESV)
