Finding encouragement

For homeschooling families,encouragement can be hard to come by sometimes. Whether you are at the park in the middle of the day (when other kids are in "school), at the Dr.'s office or within your own family, you'll get the questions, the looks the skepticism, the friendly suggestions. Negativity and doubt are out there, all over.

Encouragement is also out there, you just have to seek it out, be open and accept it.

Encouragement is your little one not wanting you to leave even for 10 minutes to drop off those Library books, encouragement is seeing your child's creativity soar with the extra time he's given during the day. Encouragement is watching your next reader bloom and grow.

This week I found encouragement in the strangest of places. A student PA (Physician's assistant) just happen to be at the Dr.'s office when I took Ellie in for an emergency visit for Strep Throat (which turned out to be scarlet Fever!!). A simple chit chat turned into a wonderful Spirit-filled conversation about staying with homeschooling during the hard times. About staying close to God and following His lead with your family through times when others didn't agree and didn't understand.

It came with meeting a new family who also homeschools and listening to their intelligent, kind, creative children who have never stepped foot in a school. Their success and conviction to train up their own children was inspiring even in the little conversations we managed to have while counting heads at the beach.

I found encouragement in an article that literally brought me to tears in the Homeschool Enrichment Magazine, reminding me why this journey is the one that I am on.

Through prayer and mediation this week, God is reminding me this is a journey. Not a race. That this should be adventurous and fun and exciting. Not stressful and hard! I want to live this journey everyday, I want to fight to find the peace in chaotic moments and struggles, I want to rest on the Lord and let Him lead us. He places the right encouragement for the right days, exactly when I need it. Sometimes you have to find it, recognize it and not ignore it. Soak it up like the sun's rays, store it away for the needed time.....