Dear Mom,

Doesn't it feel good to make a choice that you feel called to despite the obvious reservations. I compare coming to this revelation in much the same way one feels when you decide upon a life vocation. It is certain that there will be 'bumps' in the road but the feeling of being able to overcome these with the Lord's empowerment is more powerful thus moving us forward into the work ahead. If I had contemplated with serious intent all the ramifications of the most important choices in my life I am sure my timid nature would have won out and I would probably never have moved into the work and life that I love and I feel that the Lord has called me to do. Jesus empowers and inspires us to do His will and therein we find our peace despite setbacks and difficulties.

When speaking to family and friends about our choice to homeschool we had to focus upon the Lord's will for our family. I will tell you that I debated and debated about whether to homeschool. I would go back and forth, back and forth. There were equally good arguments for either choice. After much prayer, we decided to take the leap of faith. Once I made the choice, I knew it was the Lord's will as I was overcome with such a sense of peace. I was well aware of the hurdles that educating a large family would mean but these hurdles suddenly seemed doable and manageable. I began to see solutions to challenges instead of just a challenge. My family could see that I was committed to this new lifestyle and gradually they were won over. It wasn't my explanations that made the difference as much as the peace they could see in my spirit.

Homeschooling is not an answer to the challenges that families will face (financial, scheduling, etc). However homeschooling is a lifestyle that allows the family who is called to such a lifestyle to overcome within that lifestyle the challenges that the family will face. For example, homeschooling does not mean that suddenly you never have one of the children behave in a disrespectful way or that your house will suddenly be in order or that you will suddenly have extra monies. Instead the homeschooling lifestyle allows you to work through these challenges based upon the lifestyle you have chosen.

Perhaps I can explain it like this. My brother is a priest. He often talks with his nephews about the priesthood and answers their questions about the vocation. The question of sexuality and the need to date women always comes up because his nephews are all young men of the marrying age. My brother tells them that just because he is a priest that does not mean that the normal desires of a man's sexuality are suddenly lifted from him. On the contrary he still feels those desires at times, but his overwhelming desire to please the Lord through the vocation that he feels called to helps him deal with the temptation in a holy way.

I think that this is vitally important for all homeschooling families to understand. Homeschooling does not prevent challenges but allows that you work through the challenges within this lifestyle. So if the children are being disrespectful etc. it doesn't mean that public school is the answer. It means that you need to work on that challenge within the vocation that you have chosen. Just like my brother, he must work on the challenges within the limits and lifestyle he feels the Lord has called him to. It is in this 'calling' that we find our peace despite the challenges. It is this peace that many mistake as a type of panacea for all ills. Homeschooling is not a panacea it is a vocation and as such it needs to be thought of as a calling.

If someone were to come to you at this moment in your life and exclaim that your marriage and parenting is without challenges because you look peaceful while at work, I am sure that you would tell them differently. You would explain that though your lovely marriage is a blessing it has all the normal challenges that any worthy work has. Worthy work is worthy not because it lacks difficulty but because the difficulties are worthy within the context of the work.

Go forward into the calling. Ask for the prayers and encouragement of those you love and whose opinion means the most to you. Accept their prayers and tell them that you are homeschooling in order to follow a calling placed upon your heart by the Lord and in that you find your peace and joy.

Let us pray this morning for all those families that will find themselves at a crossroads with regard to choices. Let us pray that these families will look first to the Lord and His will for them as they travel the road to full discernment. Lord we love You dearly and know that Your embrace and guidance are our comfort when we must work within the lifestyle that we feel called by Your voice to follow. Lord open our spirits to hear Your voice and to follow Your call upon our lives. Amen.

Sending out a prayer,

Rita Munn