The One Word That Will Revolutionize Your School Year

 

 

It’s that time of year again. Every other commercial is advertising back-to-school sales, store aisles are packed with parents holding lists and mumbling to themselves, and kids are trying to figure out a great hiding spot where no one can find them and drag them away from their swimming pools, video games, and late-sleeping, warm beds. 

 

It’s school time! I have always loved September, even when I was a kid and that meant my freedom would soon be over. September means the air will be a little more crisp, routine will return (because I am such a routine gal), and I get to buy new school supplies! Yep, I’m a school supply nerd. 

 

This year will be a bit different for us. Last year we made the leap into public school for the first time since my oldest was in preschool. I was having a baby just a few days before school was to begin, and we were concerned that life with a newborn would put my kiddos behind in school, and we were right. I would have been a terrible homeschool teacher last year. We had a great year, excellent school and teachers, but we feel God turning our hearts back toward home, so we’re venturing into the homeschool world once again.

 

We’re calling it “Homeschooling 2.0: Reboot”. Last week we got our giant box of curriculum supplies, and I was excited like a little girl on Christmas Eve. But in my eagerness to jump into every single book I pulled out of that box, I reminded myself of one word that I’m determined will be my homeschool mantra this year: relax.

 

Relax, Mom, take it a day at a time. I’m going to be telling myself that daily, but I want to tell you that as well. Relax. We put too much pressure on ourselves, don’t we? From the moment they wake up until the moment their eyelids flutter to sleep at night, we are second guessing ourselves. “Should I have put them in school this year or kept them home? Should I have let him watch another thirty minutes of TV or forced him to read? Is that chicken I fed them for supper the most nutritious thing I could have given them? Did I research the brand of toothpaste they are using well enough?” And on and on and on. Well, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but I think it’s pretty close.

 

We’re so afraid of making the wrong decision and losing control. But, the thing is, we’ve never had it. We could micromanage every tiny aspect of their well-being, and they will still fall prey to that germ in the nursery, that nasty joke the neighbor’s kid teaches them, the ugliness that comes from their own sinful hearts (just like ours…). We have very little control, but we trust the one who is in control of it all.

 

God cares more about our children’s well-being than we do. He knows the big picture of their lives and exactly what things need to happen and what things don’t. We should take our responsibility seriously to do the absolute best we can with what we have. We should strive for excellence in our parenting so that we glorify God in how we raise our children. But if we’re doing those things, truly seeking those things, then we should not stress. Did you hear that? Do not stress.

 

Relax. Relax. Relax. God’s got this!