Where Did The Time Go?

My oldest has graduated from college and is on her own, my second is in college, my third is now in high school pretty much doing everything on his own, and my fourth is in 5th grade!

I never imagined this is where I would be when I started to have kids. Never did I imagine I would be a stay-at-home mom, MUCH LESS a homeschool mom!!! Looking back, I wouldn’t change a single thing. It has been and continues to be a long, challenging, and many times, frustrating journey, yet, so extremely rewarding. 

If you are at the beginning of this homeschool journey, I want to encourage you that, while it’s not easy, it WILL produce fruit. Yes, it is scary at times, and I cannot tell you how many times I wondered if I was completely screwing up my kids. Well, I am here to tell you that with God’s grace, I didn’t screw them up too badly. In one of our homeschool yearbooks, I once read, “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.” It’s true. Equipped for teaching I was definitely not. I have three years of college under my belt, but no college degree. Something else I heard or read somewhere was that God does not want our ability; He wants our availability.

I still have a long road ahead of me before I am retired from this homeschool journey on which God called me to embark approximately 19 years ago, but it feels like it’s going so fast, too fast. While I am looking forward to spending more time with my husband, alone, just the two of us, I am also sad to be ending this chapter of my life. I think what made it too real was this last weekend when my 9th grader attended his first high school dance. Seeing him all dressed up and looking like a young man made it real. In just a few more years, I will have only one child at home. Crazy, right?

Moral of the story: The old adage The days are long, but the years are short is so very true. Cuddle with your babies every chance you get. Hug them and tell them you love them every time you see them. Take each day as an opportunity to serve God by serving them. After all, you are raising the next generation of disciples. Just sayin’!