by Rebecca Kocsis

Ready or Not?

You may have been planning your school year for months. Your curriculum is unpacked and your lesson plans are printed. The school supplies are neatly arranged. You’re ready. The kids are bored with the relatively unstructured days of summer. Now they’re ready, too. Good for you. 

Maybe not. Maybe you just decided homeschooling is what you need to do, and you feel like you are behind before you even begin. Think about this. If you are homeschooling privately, you set the schedule. You can take the time you need to get your plan in place. When you set the schedule you can’t be late. 

[CHEA has an emergency start-up plan especially for those exiting due to Covid. No guilt included.] 

Maybe you’re not new to this, but you’ve had a rough summer. Some unforeseen event has waylaid your well-laid plans. You’re allowed to take more time if your family needs it. I remember September 11, 2001. That was supposed to be our first day of school. Instead we woke up to a national nightmare. Needless to say, we did not start school that day, or that week even. We joined the rest of our countrymen in shock and national mourning. Did we start late? No. We started when we were supposed to—the next week. God knew we would not be able to start then. No guilt added to that tragedy.

Sacrifice or Investment?

You’ve heard the saying, “The days are long, but the years are short.” I’d like to revise that and say, “The days are long, but eternity is longer.” Yes, you are sacrificing what may be the best years of your life homeschooling your children. I encourage you to reframe your thinking. You are investing the best years of your life in your children’s eternal lives. You will never again have an opportunity like this. You have a high calling making young disciples. Getting them ready for college is good. Preparing them for life is important. Getting them ready for eternity with their Savior is essential. Contrary to what some would say, you are not throwing your life away. Day by day, you are making eternal investments. That’s huge!

A Grand Adventure or the Great Unknown?

Maybe a little of both? If you are new to homeschooling, welcome to the grand adventure. No doubt you feel like you are launching into the great unknown. You really aren’t. The God who brought you to this place knows all things. He knows what He’s doing and He knows where He is leading you. Even if you’re not new, you can’t possibly know exactly what the school year holds. You can’t possibly be prepared for every contingency. You already know each year is a new adventure. Come what may, you can know with certainty that He will be with you every step of the way and that He is working out His plans for your family. That’s big! 

Why the Start of Something Big? 

Do you realize that home-based discipleship is probably your life’s greatest work? Whether you are ready or not, whether you are making sacrifices or investments, whether you are bravely embarking on a grand adventure or launching into the great unknown with fear and trembling, each new year is the start of something big. Why? Because it is a grand adventure planned in the heart of God and worked out in your family. The start of this school year is the start of something big, really big!