A Worthy Investment by Angela Young

"A Worthy Investment" is a post related to the "Why I Homeschool" series!  This is from a Young mother named Angela.  She is inspiring to me and I have had the privilege to see her little girls turn into beautiful, communicative, smart Young ladies.  (Her last name is Young.)  Enjoy.

"If you asked me ten years ago why we decided to homeschool my answer would have been very different from how I would respond today.  You see my husband and I were saved later in life and from the beginning of our relationship we knew we wanted something different for our family. In some sense, I think we wanted to protect and keep our children from all of the misery we created for ourselves in our younger years. Homeschooling seemed a natural fit for both protecting our children from the world and passing our values on to them.  I don’t remember long agonizing debates over whether we would homeschool or not. We just knew we would and so we did.  Of course, we faced the typical “are you crazy?” questions from friends and family and wondered ourselves how it would come together.

Our family grew quickly and we went from 1 to 4 girls in 3 years. We stepped into a full-time ministry in our local church with the teens. We had another baby.  I gradually became worn down and overwhelmed with the daunting tasks of keeping up my home, schooling 4 out of 5 kids, ministering alongside my husband, and recovering from multiple pregnancies. I had unrelenting standards for myself and just couldn’t let some things go. Somewhere along the way the gravity of homeschooling several children hit me and I bottomed out.

 Despite my feelings, onward we trudged. I lost focus. Why was I homeschooling again?

Out of shear exhaustion and frustration we enrolled the kids in a local Christian school. At first there was an awesome and unfamiliar calm about my house. I still had the two youngest at home, but my days were dramatically different. I found myself able to focus on those two, get my house work done, help my husband out, and catch a few minutes for myself. It was a refreshing time, but I gradually began to see things.

 Our days were no longer our own. The school schedule, homework, school activities, commuting to and from school, and preparations for the next day determined how we invested our time. I began to see the values of my home change. My girls were being shaped and molded while they were away from our home 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Longing for our freedom and jealous for the hearts and minds of our children we chose not to reenroll them in school next year. I wanted to shape and train them.  Having kids away at school all day didn’t allow for that in the way we wanted. So the next year we began anew with homeschooling. I returned to the task with a renewed vigor and focus. There was an excitement generated from knowing that my job was so much more than just protecting, imparting knowledge, and picking out great curriculum.

 I’ve learned that the task of homeschooling involves the far reaching goals of training, shaping, ministering and doing life together with my family. I've relaxed and realized that learning comes in so many shapes and forms. I enjoy watching my children learn and grow. I am surprised daily by the joy that each day together brings. We are beginning to see many of the fruits of God’s grace on this journey. In spite of our weaknesses as family and the holes that are inherent to our plan and curriculum choice there is much  satisfaction in the shared experience of watching my children overcome obstacles-both spiritual and academic, sharing new experiences, creating new family traditions, uncovering and celebrating giftedness’, and watching their abilities grow in leaps and bounds. Our days are no longer about what we are accomplishing, but about who we are becoming. 

Ten years ago homeschooling was a duty; today we homeschool because we understand that it is a privilege, an enjoyment, a fleeting time that we will look back on as treasured and precious. Today I would I tell you that we homeschool because we love how our daily rituals and habits bind us together as family.  We love the creativity that flows through our home because our time is our own. We strongly value that we do not have to make choices to be involved with things that conflict with our values and standards as a family. And finally we homeschool because we desire to intentionally and enthusiastically engage in our children’s world. 

In ten more years I’m sure my answer will have evolved to reflect another perspective, but today as a family we stand in awe of the beautiful glimpse that God has given us of what homeschooling can be. We push forward knowing that good fruit lies ahead and that homeschooling is no small investment, but a worthy one."