Don’t Give Up!

“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NIV).

Homeschool teaching can be a thankless job.

“Goals are the destination, Objectives are the waypoints, and Outcomes are the evidence that the destination was reached.” (https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/teaching/teaching-resource-library/writing-learning-goals-objectives-and-outcomes)

The kids feel comfortable telling their teacher exactly what they’d rather be doing. The teacher begins each fresh day with the “best laid plans,” which quickly devolve into calming quarrels and soothing frayed nerves. What is a teacher to do?

Once, I was a classroom teacher. My students weren’t perfect, but they respected my authority. I chose to lay down that status to share my faith with my own four kids. In the morning when we rose, in the evening when we lay down, as we sat in the house and walked on the streets, I wanted to make the days count (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). I desired to share an authentic faith in Christ, which was my “why” in our homeschool adventure.

In teaching, outcomes are evidence that learning has occurred. In life, we want tangible proof. Did my choices matter? Were my words effective? Sometimes, though, we need to wait. It’s one of the ways God deepens our faith. 

I remember laying my discouraged head upon my husband’s shoulder, crying weary tears and saying, “I know, I know, ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up ‘” (Galatians 6:9, NIV). I knew, but I sure couldn’t see it!

What are you sacrificing to trust God in an ‘impossible’ goal? How are you challenged to keep on trusting Him? Let me encourage you today to ‘remember your WHY.’ God rewards faithfulness. In His good timing, the outcome will show that your trust was wisely placed.