Training Together

“Alas, if our children lose the crown of life, it will be but a small consolation that they have won the laurels of literature or art.”  

~Charles Spurgeon

Her youngest girl has sideways curls. When we are together, our crew of eleven can shake the house. Mine are atrociously louder than hers and she pretends not to care. She's thankful for the hot cup of caffeine I pass her way. She smiles.  I can't help but wish we lived closer.  This gathering of faces together and presenting knowledge and ideas to be grasped and somehow retained by a mere High-school graduate (myself),and partially college studied mother, (herself) does more than make me panicky, at times it darn well scares me to death!!!! Yet, here we are waist deep in the muck of it all.

I never once thought I'd be a homeschooling mom when I was younger. I'm not the scholarly type. Nor do I enjoy teaching my children things I hardly know myself.  Somehow, I forget all that when we school our children side by side. Somehow I know all that matters is the task at hand and if she can do it, I can do it. It doesn't come easy. Some days I don't even want to try because of how badly and regularly I fail. But what is failure after all? Is looking back after you've completed a task, knowing you tried your best, failure? Even if things didn't turn out as you planned, is that failure? Or is failure only failure if you don't complete the task at all?  God knows what we're capable of, doesn't He? He promises not to give us more than we can bear, right? So just because I may not be able to teach my children as successfully as a mom with a college degree and a burning desire to educate, does that make me a failure or my children in some way less worthy? I think not. 

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 says;

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Our Lord desires Godly offspring. (Malachi 2:15) He expects us to raise and train up these little ones in righteousness. Prov.22:6 Says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Understandably, this way of teaching and training will look different to each of us Moms. However, as we press on toward the goal, we see our predecessors cheering us on to win! (The goal being true fellowship with God and to enjoy Him forever.)  “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord."  Eph. 6:4

Charles Spurgeon understood parenting to a great depth when he said, "The most careful and prayerful father cannot be held accountable for having wicked sons, if he has done his best to instruct them. The most anxious and tearful mother cannot be blamed if her daughter dishonors the family, provided her mother has done her best to train her up in the right way." 

The point here is to do our best according to His word, which is what God expects, and let Him do the rest.

Blessings.