The Big Decision

I think we've all heard the saying, "God laughs at our plans"?? Well He's having a good 'ole knee slapper right about now, I think. I used to say that I would home school if I had to; what I really meant was that I'd home school if we found ourselves living in the wilds of Alaska 400 miles away from the nearest public school. I really resisted the idea of home schooling for a long time, but God has been persistent in urging me to look into it. After months of researching, reading many books, praying, and talking with home schooling families, we've decided to home school our kids!

The past month or so I've hunted for home schooling curriculum and checked into a co-op, plus attended a 3-day home schooling conference. There are not only thousands of curriculum choices, but it can be fairly expensive depending on what you go with and how much work you're willing to do on your own. This is a slight concern since Mike's employment has been sporadic since his lay-off last October (another reason home schooling seems like a crazy thing to do. This decision is a huge step of faith!)

All that research led me to a particular curriculum that appeared to meet my criteria, while also taking into consideration my kids' learning styles and my teaching style. To remain true to myself , I had to be completely thorough in my researching, so I also joined a "Yahoo Group" of families who use this curriculum so that I could learn as much as possible from women who were already using it. I began to sense conviction, as well as peace, about this choice of curriculum, even after browsing many other worthy options that had made it onto my short list.

Last week the moderator posted on the curriculum Yahoo Group that there was a full starter set of this particular curriculum available as a gift for anyone in need.....as a matter of fact, she was reposting the notice since no one had come forward to state they had a need. I was practically dancing in my seat as I sent her an email indicating I'd be interested. She forwarded my request to the family that had, 4 years prior, received this set brand new as a gift during a difficult time in their lives, and they were "paying it forward". Pam's situation 4 years ago was so similar to where my family is at right now (her husband was in construction and laid off just like my husband, my Mom is battling cancer and Pam's sister Sheryl was battling cancer, etc.). It's almost eerily similar, but I don't believe in coincidences. When Mike and I stepped out in faith to choose home schooling despite our finances so up in the air, I believed God would provide......but never in my wildest imagination did I think He'd provide a very specific curriculum for us - chosen from hundreds of options - through a stranger's gift. We're not even being asked to pay for shipping.

It would be an understatement to say that God continues to amaze me in how good He is to us, how mindful He is of the little things that concern us, and how He never leads us somewhere without making sure we have what we need for the journey. And if this is how the journey is starting off, I'm sure that my imagination can't even conceive of what an incredible year it's going to be.