Are You In Survival or Revival, Mama?

Let’s talk about the hard things of homeschooling. There are times (maybe years) where you are homeschooling through illness. Or, maybe the lack of finances or job security is particularly hard. What about that marriage that is hanging in the balance? What about those teens that are rebellious? What about the trials that keep coming? 

You are not alone. Hard things are happening to all of us. But, I am here to say that there is hope in the midst of the hard things. 

You can have peace in Christ in the middle of the storm. God is a redeeming God and wastes nothing. Jesus overcame all things and invites you to the winning circle with Him. He wants us not just to survive but to be revived in His presence. 

We need a better, more hopeful, perspective than just “survival mode.” We need “revival mode.” We need to draw near to Him. It is our only hope. Stop the negative thinking and think on Him. 

The hard times in my life truly strengthened my relationship with the Lord as I clung to Him and learned from Him. I learned. . .

• Everything that was meant to tear me down built me up as I sought Him with all my heart. 
• As bad as life seemed, it made the character of a faithful God even brighter. 
• Life is not always good, but God is always good. He has good in store for us. 
• I learned I could operate out of victory instead of defeat as I handed it all over to Him. 
• I learned to look for the gratitude in the garbage.
• I learned to magnify the Lord and not my problem.

Maybe no one understands. But Jesus endured great hardship and understands. You may have to follow Him into the wilderness, but you will overcome through the Word of God.

You may have to follow Him through misunderstanding and rejection and hatred. But you will overcome because He overcame. He might not take you out of the turmoil, but He can take the turmoil out of you as you keep your mind stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3). 

So how do you homeschool through hardship? 

 “We homeschool through hardship by homeschooling through worship!” ~Mercy, 11

My daughter knew better than I did. We worship Him for His redemption, for His faithfulness, for His salvation. He is worthy of our worship. Worship is a powerful weapon against the enemy of hardship.

Your kids will be learning mercy, compassion, helping, patience, longsuffering, and kindness. Hardship can be the training ground for all of these things. 

Don’t lose heart!

“Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

~Deborah

Need more encouragement, read my article “Homeschooling Through Hardship.”

Deborah Wuehler is the Senior Editor and Director of Production here at The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. She would say she is a very ordinary homeschool mom–with one exception: she has an extraordinary God Who provides all she needs for life and homeschooling. She has eight children aged 11 to 29. Deborah’s mission is this: to point other homeschoolers to the Lord in all they do, think, and feel—and to confirm that they, too, can find everything they need for life, godliness, and homeschooling in their knowledge of Him (2 Peter 1:3-4).