Living on Purpose

I have a friend who tires of being asked why she homeschools.  It isn’t because she doesn’t love to talk about it or because she doesn’t expect and respect curiosity.  Her frustration stems from the unquestioned acceptance of public schooling.  She wants to know why homeschoolers don’t more frequently ask why or how do families send their children to public school.  Her point is not that public school is horrible, but that it shouldn’t be taken for granted.  She wants to encourage all families to think and purpose the lives of their children, so if you send them to public school, it must be because you thought, researched, prayed and sought wise council about doing so.  And she would love to hear about the process!

We were given a great responsibility with our children.  To respect and live up to the responsibility, I believe we need to live with purpose.  To me, that means not taking anything for granted.  We need to make informed decisions regarding the lives of our children, rather than just ‘going with the flow’ or doing what ‘everyone’ else does.  When you consider how pivotal childhood is to our entire lives, every aspect ought to be examined so that our children are equipped and prepared for adulthood.

There is something exciting about parenting when we fully accept our responsibility.  We get to do it.  We get to look at the big picture and decide what would be the absolute best for these young people.  We are reaching into the future, here!

When we do this, the importance of the education of our children—the method, environment and attitude plus all the aspects of it like academic, emotional, spiritual and relational—can’t be underestimated.

With that mindset, with an eternal perspective about what matters and what lasts, the decisions are based on a reality that can so easily be ignored when our thoughts are merely in the moment or just going through the motions.

Ooh!  That’s a good song!