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I am replying to the answer I received from Rita Munn today. THANK YOU!!! Your reply brought tears to my eyes. Without knowing me or our situation you hit it right on the head. Yes, my older daughter does want to be in school, because of the school environment, the accolades. Therefore, how does this impact whether she should be homeschooled or not? Regarding our middle daughter---yes, I think she does want to homeschool because she feels inferior, she has had many times when kids have been unkind to her, and definitely the classroom setting is very overwhelming for her, and yes we are concerned that she will fall behind in the classroom instruction. She has been asking to be homeschooled for years. So.....are you saying that homeschooling is a good option for her? Regarding my own feelings -- I feel drawn to homeschooling now and did before because I believed the Lord led us to it. We prayed so much before we pulled them out of a very good Catholic school, where we were very involved and had many good experiences. Then we hit some bumps in the road and I gave in. In hindsight, I often wonder if the devil was working to make it harder so I would give it up. My husband and I believe in so many of the benefits for the children and the family from homeschooling, fear would not draw me to homeschooling, it would push me away. I agree so much that we cannot put our children through another year like they had last year, one school, then homeschooling and then another school. Again, in hindsight, I worry that I lost my chance with my older daughter, because she was willing to homeschool the first time around, but now she really wants to stay in school, even though I want to bring her home. I will take your advice, and continue to pray. Thank you again so much for your words of encouragement and wisdom and prayers!!
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| Answer: |
Dear Mom, Your tears are the tears of the Holy Spirit's anointing. They are in effect tears of confirmation. Not my words but the Holy Spirit's words have consoled you during this time of confusion. For you see it is the Holy Spirit's greatest desire to lead and guide the precious little ones who belong only to the Lord. Continue to pray and through your prayers you will gradually come to an agreement within your spirit as to the course of action you and your husband should follow. It is prudent and of the Lord's own wisdom to move with caution and with discernment as you make choices. I sense that you are indeed a family of prayer and in this great joy of family prayer the Lord is ever leading you. Look to the challenges that you are facing with regards to the education of your daughters. Think of ways that you can meet these challenges while going forward into the homeschooling lifestyle, a lifestyle that you believe is within the Lord's will for your family. There are many outside activities that are perfect for your more gregarious daughter and ones that will help to nurture her desire to be with her peers and to compete for the joy of competition. My own daughters swim competitively and find this to be a suitable outlet. 4-H is an excellent outlet as well. Here children compete as teams without regard or focus upon the schools they attend. The daughter that is feeling compromised by her sorrows suffered within the school system can find an outlet as well in these activities but for a different reason than your older daughter. Find an activity that suits her personality and style. Let her excel in something that is all her own. Cover her broken spirit with generous amounts of praise and compassion. However do not let her look back to the experiences with resentment or anger. Help her to see the worth in all experiences though they be unpleasant. Again go forward with the Lord leading and guiding your actions and words. Jesus longs to cure and soothe the broken hearted. You are the best resource that your daughters could have. You are a woman who has a heart for her children. This is of the Lord and a gift of great worth for your family. I admire your caring spirit and your desire to be there for your children. Remember that the world does not have to be perfect in order to be good. Perfection is only realized and fully appreciated in the Heaven home that our Lord has prepared for us. There we live in the light of His Perfection knowing that no sorrow, compromise or burden will ever separate us from this Perfection. Homeschooling is first a method to educate children. It is not perfect nor should it be nor should we strive to make it so. Accepting that there will be good days coupled with days of challenge and resting in the knowledge that we are not to strive for perfection gives us a sense of peace that leads to fruitful endeavors. Go forward. Let us pray together a Hail Mary for the intentions of all those women who are separated from their families and loved ones because of poor choices they have made. Let us offer up our prayers for them and ask the sweet Jesus to open their hearts, minds and spirits to receive His love and His mercy. Sending out a prayer,
Rita Munn |
