Rendering

We spent this past weekend at a national homeschool convention. I'm not gonna lie. 

I was a little skeptical as to why we were going. I'm not dealing with anxiety over teaching my kids to read. I'm not running out of ideas to keep little hands busy. And I'm not struggling with a teen who won't finish his calculus homework...yet (all of which were offered classes.)

But it didn't take long into the first night before we really knew why we were there. And it's because everyone running a race gets tired after while. Every one needs a breather. And if you have ever spent a fraction of a second around home education then you know it's a marathon every day...even if you have barely started.

And this place, this gathering of families all running the same race, offered that breather. Those moments of passing another family and knowing they totally get you. They've got the same frustrated perfectionist, overly sensitive creator, and wild terror in their classroom every day too. 

But more importantly were the moments of fires being refueled, reminded, re-engrained as to why we do this. Why we have piles of construction paper and glue sticks, why the dining room sees more school books than four course meals, why we get asked "why?" all the time.

And after this weekend, the "why's" don't bother me. The purpose of our teaching them started the moment we knew of their being knitted in secret. Our parenting goal was to disciple men after God's own heart to become mighty leaders and Kingdom builders.

And education...the learning ABC's, how caterpillars make cocoons, weights and pulleys, tides and currents, seasons and time, adding and subtracting, creation and redemption...education, all of it, is discipleship. It's the days, and weeks, and years filled with the opportunity to further grow valiant warriors for Christ. 

"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's"- the fingerprints of God are all over these precious men, and they are His. Which is why it's daunting, humbling, exciting, and a blessing to be doing this school at home thing...even if we have to dissect frogs on the kitchen counter one day :)