You are Lying to yourself
I’m not smart enough to homeschool.
I don’t have enough patience to teach them.
I don’t think I can be around my kids all the time.
I’ve been on this homeschool journey for over five years. During this time, I have had many conversations with moms who tell me many reasons why they could never homeschool. These three common phrases come up time after time! Honestly, years ago I could be found saying the same things. Recently, after talking to a mom who said “ I’m not smart enough to teach my kids” I became sad and frustrated. Who made her think that she wasn't enough? What voices did she allow to speak over her to tell her she didn’t measure up? After reflecting on the lies we tell ourselves in motherhood, I knew I needed to combat those lies with truth!
So here is my rebuttal to all these lies we tell ourselves!
I’m not smart enough to homeschool.
You are already your child’s teacher. You taught them how to walk, talk, eat, play with others, hug, kiss, and love. You see, God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called. The God of the universe gets to decide if I’m smart enough and good enough. He gets to make the call and say if I measure up. He says who I am! He says who you are! If he has called you to educate your kids, he believes you are smart enough, and that alone should be enough encouragement to step into the unknown.
I don’t have enough patience to teach them.
Let me be brutally honest with you. You have believed a lie over yourself. If you are a believer and have the Holy Spirit inside of you, you have access to all the patience in the universe.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!“ Galatians 5:22-23
You possess the ability to be honest with yourself and ask the hard questions. We flippantly pronounce negative traits over our lives with no intention of asking our Father to guide us and show us how to work on those areas we are weak. He wants us to succeed! All we have to do is ask.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5-6 NLT
To be truthful, without my relationship with Christ, I wouldn’t be good enough or capable of having the patience to educate my babies.
I don’t think I can be around my kids all the time.
Can I ask why? Why can’t you? Do enjoy your kids? Are you scared?
This reply always reveals a heart problem. Don’t get me wrong, serving little people all day every day is HARD. From my experience, most of our reluctance comes come fear. Fear of failure, fear of something new, fear of change. We have to shift our mindset to a kingdom perspective (what can I learn about God and eternity in this moment). Sometimes it takes fasting and prayer to uncover “the why” behind our reservations. When I am having a hard day with my kids (which happens frequently) the scripture below helps me focus on what’s important. Do the hard work! Pray and ask the Lord to reveal the truth behind your reluctance.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
My encouragement for all you mommas out there who don’t think you are enough, you are, but only in Christ, and then, you are more than enough. He makes you enough and gives grace for when we don’t measure up. If you are on the fence about homeschooling because of YOU, don’t let fear and insecurities stop you from stepping into what God has called you to do.
