Here I am on the flip side of all that and now I can see what went wrong. I was trying my hardest, all by myself. Sadly, I allowed life to distract me from God's plan for our family. Worse yet, I allowed life to distract me from my first priority, my relationship with the One True God, the only one who could have helped me make sense of it all.
There was talk of enrolling the kids in public school. However, this was a major shift that I wasn't about to let happen without God's explicit approval. I started praying, seeking after Him with all my heart, "Lord God, if it's YOUR will for the kids to be enrolled please allow it to happen."
You see, we were only considering one particular school. A good one, with awesome results and lots of extra curricular activities. We found out they accept out-of-district students and applied.
Our oldest, junior high, wasn't particularly excited about going back to public school. We honestly believed if there was an issue it would lie with her. Even then, all doubts of that evaporated after we met with the principal and counselor. We were told admission looked good but they would call us with a definite answer in a week or two. Nothing being set in stone, we decided if her brother (who really wanted to go) got into the elementary and she didn't, we would let him go and continue home schooling her.
At this point we were pretty sure they were going to public school. I started leaving homeschool groups on fb, selling my beloved books and gearing up for a different type of life.
Then the junior high principal called, while we were on vacation, to let us know Olivia had been accepted. "However," he advised us, "check with the elementary school." Their typical policy is to admit families. If one gets in, the other would. Unfortunately, we were told, this wouldn't be the case. Apparently, the elementary school's numbers were high. Third and fourth grade were at or above capacity in all their classes.
What?! This isn't at all what we expected! Then again when does God ever answer our prayers the way we expect? We really believed the issue was going to lie with our oldest. We were even planning on letting the younger go even if she didn't get in! But there we were, our youngest couldn't get in. God had closed the door.
During this time of seeking we were continually complimented on the children for their behavior, apparent maturity, manners, and knowledge. God was using complete strangers to affirm our homeschooling journey! As if to sweep away any doubts or questions, upon our return home from vacation, God used the next two Sunday sermons to address our, I mean, my "commitment" and "obedience" to His will.
So, here I am!! Praising God for His amazing mercy, grace, and involvement in my life! Now, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt I am exactly where the Lord wants me! As my fb friend, Trina Reynolds, eloquently concluded:
It is a journey, and sometimes you lose the path, sometimes you can see far from the mountain tops, sometimes you have to wade the creek... but it all weaves together in the end into a beautiful story!
