3rd December, 2007
More Than a Normal Life
Little Homeschool on the Prairie reviewed the documentary Grown Without School. A quote captured my attention:
There is a myth that through homeschooling you can achieve…more than a normal life.
I want to raise the next George Washington, Albert Einstein, or, for a current example, Ravi Zacharias. In the dream, my children are famous, and make a positive impact as salt and light in the lives of multitudes. Maybe this will happen, but, most likely, they will live a normal life.
They will grow up to be employees, business owners, or parents. They will struggle when making life-altering decisions. Their clothes will get dirty, and they will experience pain. Hard work is before them.
How do I best prepare my little ones to value this earthly routine? A quiet life can ebb with joy. Proverbs 4:23 admonishes,
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, the Latin root of the word diligence is “to love earnestly; to choose.” Love takes “constant effort,” “steady application,” and “exertion,” but without it life is meaningless. Heroes love whether or not acknowledged by the crowds. They walk amid the common things and extraordinary events knowing that even an ordinary life is worth sacrifice.
Salt is meant to be sprinkled, not poured. Light illuminates, but even the sun does not shine everywhere at once.
Posted at 11:56 pm |
On December 4, 2007 at 9:25 am Rebecca said:
December 4, 2007 at 9:25 am
You’ve hit the nail on the head Renae.
On December 4, 2007 at 9:27 am The Homeschooling Mystique « Little Homeschool on the Prairie said:
December 4, 2007 at 9:27 am
[...] at Life Nurturing Education has some additional thoughts on More Than a Normal Life which are worth reading. 1 Comment so far Leave a [...]
On December 4, 2007 at 3:37 pm Mandi said:
December 4, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Hi Renae,
Taking a little break from the packing - well actually I am sewing today - new bedding for the kids’s bunks. ( :
Thanks for sharing this beautiful vision! Amen! ( :
Warmly,
Mandi
On December 4, 2007 at 7:35 pm ThirstyJon said:
December 4, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Good thoughts Renae!
I often work with young people and I want them to be great. All of them can be.
But greatness starts with a “normal life.” There will be no more George Washintons if there is no one who is great in “normal life!”
So our work is to mobilize a generation of George Washington’s whether they are ever “famous” or not.
But I bet…
I just bet something will happen. One never knows who it is they are influencing! All of our students will change the world in normal life. Some of those normal lives will Rock History in a very Public Way.
God Bless and thanks for another inspiring post!
ThirstyJon
On December 4, 2007 at 10:27 pm JacciM said:
December 4, 2007 at 10:27 pm
“Salt is meant to be sprinkled, not poured”. That’s a keeper.
On December 4, 2007 at 10:37 pm Dana said:
December 4, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Excellent thoughts, Renae, and they mirror my own. It struck me that the young man was unhappy about not becoming an Olympic cyclist. What education would have made that more likely?
But it strikes a little closer to home, too. I know a few people who chose homeschooling because they wanted to provide their children with solid spiritual training. They did everything “right.” But their children walked away.
We put promise in homeschooling and forget that we are all only human, we all fall short and their is only one Savior.
On December 5, 2007 at 10:23 am
Renae said:
December 5, 2007 at 10:23 am
Mandi,
Sewing and packing are a crazy combination. :) I bet your kids are excited!
I will miss reading your posts the rest of this month, but hope you have a wonderful Christmas and best wishes for your move.
On December 5, 2007 at 10:32 am
Renae said:
December 5, 2007 at 10:32 am
Thirsty Jon,
Thank you very much. May your work with young people be blessed!
I do believe that some will be salt and light in the public arena, but the reality is, most will not. I am trying to find contentment with that. Will my son be any less valuable if he doesn’t become the President of the United States?
When we worked with youth (other than our own) on a full-time basis, one thing we discovered was that many of them, including home schooled students, didn’t feel unconditional love from their parents. I think that was partly because of expectations. They knew I would love them even if “they lived in a van down by the river,” but they weren’t so sure their parents would. It broke my heart.
I don’t know exactly what God dreams for my children, but I do know he wants them to love with everything they’ve got. That can start by them experiencing it from me.
Dana,
Yes, you are right. Home schooling doesn’t come with any guarantees. That is hard to face when you are pouring everything out for your children. We have to trust God with the results. They are his children and my work is for his glory.
On December 5, 2007 at 11:04 am Emily SHS said:
December 5, 2007 at 11:04 am
Great thoughts! Have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!