School is upon us (again)! Every year about this time, I get excited about what God is going to do in the lives of our children. Yet, at the same time, I get that queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach; the same feeling I used to get as a kid the night before school started each year. It is the feeling that signals impending, relentless, perpetual doom. Ah, how I wish for those carefree summer days again!
Silly as it sounds, this feeling of dread is real to many of us homeschoolers. Why? Because we are, indeed, facing another year of frustration, patience testing, and diligence. And it is hard.
However, having graduated my eldest son through Classical Conversations this past spring, I have a better perspective. I have seen the product. I have seen what this program is capable of. And so my trepidation regarding the upcoming year is mollified.
Read the Graduate Charge I gave to my son at our graduation ceremony last May. Perhaps you will be a bit inspired to get a glimpse of the end result.
Andrew, your mother and I have watched you grow from a young boy who wasn’t sure what he believed or why…into a young man who KNOWS what he believes and WHY.
You own your worldview. You own your faith. You own your beliefs. We have toiled to give this to you….and you have taken it. And now you own it.
It won’t be too long before you will strike out on your own. You will have to make wise choices. You will have to make wise decisions. You will be responsible for your own path in life.
And we have all the confidence that you will succeed in making those choices and those decisions and that path.
Because you own your beliefs, because you have the belt of Truth wrapped around you, you will stand firm when the attacks come. You know the Truth so well, that you can easily spot the lies. And you know that when people hate the Truth, the Truth may often sound like hate.
When science tells you that Man came from random chance, not from God,
You will not buy the lie.
When your peers tell you that God is a manmade invention, and that you are a simpleton for believing such foolishness,
You will not buy the lie.
When culture tells you that greed is good,
You will not buy the lie.
When your friends tell you that cheating on a test is OK,
You will not buy the lie.
When your government tells you that “liberty” means the ability to do anything you want, because it is your right,
You will not buy the lie.
When the media tells you that purity is old fashioned and outdated,
You will not buy the lie.
When society tells you that killing an unborn child is part of your constitutional reproductive rights,
You will not buy the lie.
When Hollywood praises the latest celebrity couple for the child they had outside of marriage,
You will not buy the lie.
Why? Because you are a man of honor, integrity, purity, and wisdom.
Proverbs 27:19 says, “As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.” We have already seen the kind of heart you have…and it is impressive.
I charge you to REFLECT…
REFLECT the qualities of God to your culture.
REFLECT the fruit of the Spirit to your peers.
REFLECT the love of Jesus, the Christ, to those around you.
If you simply reflect what is already in your heart, you will never cease to impact this culture we call America.
And you will do mighty things for God.
As I pondered the question, “What do I want my child to look like in twenty years?” I began to realize that what I see in my child now is exactly what I want for him in twenty years. I have no doubt that the homeschool environment we have crafted for him, his peer group, Classical Conversations, and the abundant grace of God have made all the difference. So take heart! Next year will be difficult, guaranteed, but the end is worth the means.
