Dishing Up Devotions for Homeschooling FamiliesSample

Steadfast in Stewardship

The daily grind of homeschooling often feels like an exercise in insanity. I spend my days doing things that can’t be measured. With my young kids, there were days I worked hard for hours to help them through their studies. I fed them meals and snacks. I did laundry and dishes throughout the day and constantly cleaned up messes. Yet, oftentimes, my husband would come home to an even bigger disaster than the one he left that morning. It was maddening for both of us. 

I love to accomplish things. It feels rewarding to look around and see a task completed, a room cleaned, and a job well done. I thrived in the professional world because of my drive for accomplishment. It helped me earn a promotion to clinical director within two years of working in the counseling profession and flourish in church planting alongside my husband—but it is my Achilles’ heel in my current season. 

I can’t measure my progress through worksheets completed or rooms cleaned. I don’t always see the outward progress of the daily discipleship and character development in my kids. Instead, God reminds me to measure the fulfillment in my spirit, knowing I have remained steadfast in carefully stewarding my children’s hearts and minds. He encourages me to cherish the moments that I’ll never get back. He reminds me some of the greatest blessings of homeschooling lie in the memories made and experiences explored, not in the tasks accomplished. 

No one is going to look back and analyze the amount of busy work I gave my kids or how clean we kept our home. But my kids will reflect on their childhood with love and appreciation for a mother who snuggled with them on the couch and read aloud each morning, took them on nature walks around the neighborhood, and spent more time coloring and playing than cleaning and correcting. They will remember a mother who remained steadfast for more than fifteen years, fiercely committed to homeschooling and discipling her children. And my children will learn to follow my example of steadfastness as they face their own obstacles and challenges.

Family Activity

Paint rocks to serve as a visual reminder to build our lives upon Christ, our solid Rock. Talk about the importance of building a firm foundation of faith so when troubles come, we will not be shaken.