As I reflect upon my years of homeschooling, I am so grateful for God’s lead.

Of course, there are aspects I wish had been different, both in a practical sense and in my role as teacher-mom. For one, I now have more fruits of the Spirit ripened in my life.

Recently, God gave me another opportunity to use my skills as I homeschooled a first grader, and that was quite a gift. Through the years, I have grown wiser and more controlled, so I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be a better teacher.

As with all children, my own children’s skills and interests varied, and these were highlighted in their personalities. Letting our children pursue their interests was a benefit for them and for us as parents.

Oftentimes that stretched me.

Children are not only a mix of both parents, but have their individual ‘flavor’. I wanted to be careful to not stifle the way God wired them and to not let my insecurities restrain them. I wanted our children to flourish in order to be all that God created them to be. They would benefit from experiences that would help shape them into their future selves.

This was done through an attitude of prayer, giving them to God for his purposes. My mode of operation was pray, and pray some more, for God’s leading… and then strive to follow his lead.

This stretched me! I had to let go of some of my expectations. I can also look back at how God used the father-mother differences to create a balanced experience for our children.

Sometimes our children’s interests took me out of my comfort zone. In middle school, our younger son took interest in Native American life, even making his own native clothing. He stood out; I did not like to be noticed. Our daughter pursued animals; I could not handle the odors and dirt. These concessions were an enormous stretch for me at the time. I could only manage them with God’s direction as he guided me in our children’s development.

As I submitted to God, I released my fears to follow God’s lead.

As I was stretched, I learned along with my children, in more ways than one.