“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

I didn’t expect to be a homeschooling mom. It wasn’t something I dreamt about or had any plans to pursue. I assumed that my children would attend our community K-12 school, the same one their dad graduated from.

I didn’t expect God’s plans to be different than mine, but I was open to his gentle nudge towards homeschooling.

However, the struggles stole my breath, and I despaired wondering how I could go on. The effort required for managing different personalities, learning styles or delayed learning surprised me.

I needed to accept the truth that God sees what I cannot, and I have to accept that sometimes his will brings difficulties and struggles.

Acceptance is the third key in Homeschooling by HEART, and I’ve wrestled with it. As a quick review: I need to HEAR God’s voice above all others. I need to ENDURE through the years when it’s tempting to turn my back on his call.

Homeschooling provides moms and kids with opportunities to grow together and to learn how to deal with heart issues. Hard issues. I have to accept that there will be limitations in how our homeschool is lived out. The limitations are in myself, my kids, and my location.

I’ve condemned myself because I didn’t turn every experience into a learning experience. I’ve skipped over more art projects than I like to admit. I can’t give my kids the cultural experience that living in an urban area affords.

I’m limited to what a rural community provides. My kids may not experience art museums, theatre, or diverse cultures, but my children are well acquainted with life cycles, where their food comes from, and know the work required to raise food.

I’ve also struggled accepting my kids’ limitations. What I think should be easy, is not. Place value anyone? Seriously, I thought we would breeze through that chapter, but we struggled and struggled. I drew colorful pictures, hung up charts, made up ditties, but we still struggled.

My kids are not always going to learn on my timetable. I had to accept that sometimes my kids didn’t want to learn about history or biology and dissecting frogs made a couple of them lose their appetite. Things that I thought would be fun, were not. Things that I didn’t want to do, they wanted to do.

Limitations are a part of every homeschooling family. And it’s okay to learn to live within those limitations. God uses them to refine us and to help us accept where he’s placed us. Accepting our limitations grows us into contented homeschooling moms because we can stop comparing ourselves to others or chasing after the latest ideas.

I’ve struggled accepting the whole of God’s plan for our lives—the limitations, the successes, and the struggles.  I’ve had to accept that God sees a much grander picture than I do, and if I can accept the plan as God planned it to be, I grow more confident.

God, in his mercy, has brought me to a point where I can say that the struggles I face are not there to harm me, but to grow me. He’s discipling me, just as much as I’m discipling my kids, through this discipline called homeschooling.

I don’t know what struggles you are facing today. Maybe you’re ready to quit, maybe you’re wondering if you heard God correctly, maybe you’re wondering if the struggles are worth the effort you’re pouring into your kids every day.

I want to encourage you to hear God’s voice, endure through the difficult moments and accept the place where God has you. Accept your limitations and be content that God has your future and your kids’ future in his hands. He has plans to give you a future and hope. Rest in that and Homeschool by HEART.

To read other posts from this series – 

Part 1

Part 2

Jessica Van Roekel is a woman on the journey to wholeness through brokenness. She believes that through Christ our personal histories don’t have to define our present or determine our future. Her greatest desire is to see people live this ‘God-life’ with all the power and grace that God provides. Jessica lives in a rural community with her husband and four children. She leads worship on Sundays, but seeks to be a worshiper every day. You can connect with her atwww.welcomegrace.com  and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/JessicaVanRoekel