How many times have you heard someone say, “Oh! You homeschool? Wow. I could never do that!” Their reasons range from, “I’m too impatient” to “I would ruin their education.” But the fact is, with homeschooling—as with all great accomplishments—there is a principle at work that gives parents the ability to homeschool their children for the long haul: Vision. A vision for their future.
As with anything, if we have a vision, a far reaching goal, a greater purpose or plan, then we will set our nose to the grindstone and overcome the obstacles before us. In the pursuit of a great vision, there will always be rocky paths and difficulties to overcome—whether it’s starting a new business, building a house, or educating our children. However, those who are successful in their new business, in completing the home of their dreams, or in graduating their children from high school, are the ones who kept their eyes and heart on the goal when they faced the inevitable trials that come with any great accomplishment.
If we focus on the temporal issues—if our thoughts are consumed with the means rather than the overriding purpose for our labors—it will be easy to fall.
In the end, homeschooling produces mature, responsible adults who are better able to handle the pressures of college, career, marriage, and life in general.
Homeschooled high schoolers are mature and adult like, similar to John Quincy Adams who graduated from law school at age 17, or George Washington who at the age of 17 was the official surveyor for his county in Virginia, or many of the others who never knew they were “still a kid” when they were in their teens. Homeschooling allows our children to find their purpose early and pursue it with passion and excellence. It allows them to catch a vision for their lives while most kids are worried about being popular, accepted, or cool.
Homeschooling gives us the opportunity to pour truth and the love of Jesus into our children’s lives. Being around us day after day, they will watch and see how God intervenes in our situations and circumstances, teaching them that, indeed, God is real, God is good, and God delivers. Our children are given a Biblical worldview as they learn of science, history, and art from a God centered, providential perspective. With a godly worldview, they will be world changers. Their light will shine brightly as their friends see them pray—and watch God work in their lives. Our children will be different from the world, not for their own sake, but for the sake of the world—in order to shine brightly, drawing others to Christ.
Don’t lose the vision when your road leads to an obstacle that must be removed before you can go on. There are many ways to get the boulder out of the path while keeping your heart focused on the goal.
God’s word tells us that without vision, people cast off restraint; some translations even say, “perish.”
I know that without the vision I had for my children’s future, I could have thrown in the towel many times.
Yet the commitment ran so deep that no matter how many times I was in doubt, I came out of the turmoil with an even stronger conviction that everything will, indeed, turn out for the good. And it did.
For more encouragement read Obstacles in Our Path.
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