A startling change in events for this poor beleaguered family is on the horizon. Read about it here.
I find this encouraging.
Hope you do, too.
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. James 5:7b-8
Faking patience. Our own thinking tells us, of course, the lack of affliction causes us to act patient.
That is true.
And as long as all we are concerned with is acting the part, a lack of affliction will suffice.
True patience. The Word of God has a different take on it.
God says we need affliction, troubles, problems, even suffering, in order to learn true patience.
Fake patience will evaporate in any trial. And trials will come.
You know it, too: No pain, no gain, right?
James uses the farmer to illustrate the necessity of waiting and the reward for patience.
When a farmer plants his seeds, he knows that he will have to work and wait before he will see the fruit of his labor. First he tills the ground. Then he plants seed and prays for rain. In a few days he sees something coming up through the ground.
What would you think of a farmer who harvested his crop after those few days’ growth? Would he have anything worth eating or selling?
No, he needs to wait more, be patient more. He wants a strong, mature crop. That takes time. He has to work—tilling, weeding, irrigating—and wait until the process is complete. If he harvests too early, he will ruin it.
Parents must be patient too.
The first nine months seem to go forever. It’s a difficult wait, but a good chance to do the work of accumulating baby supplies. The next few hours of working and waiting for delivery to be over can seem like forever, too. We do warp time, don’t we!
But immediately after that all waiting is over, right? Wrong.
It’s time for a different time warp.
Parents work for years, caring for a child and instilling in him the training, discipline and encouragement he needs to mature enough to survive on his own.
Sometimes it seems like one step forward and two steps back. After all, they DO say we spend two years teaching a child to walk and talk, and the rest of their lives teaching them to sit down and hush. Heh heh.
It’s that way for every parent. Do not think for one minute that if you ditch your child, you will relieve yourself of the waiting, of the work of learning patience. You don’t really know patience unless you’ve waited for a prodigal.
Yes, child-rearing takes patience. In the same way, our Father is patiently training, disciplining, encouraging, and maturing us—through our afflictions—to be more like Jesus.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4
As we anticipate the rewards of patience, we can endure whatever happens in our lives. We can cope when we remember that heaven is forever and earth is passing. When the ground is shaking all around us and we are tempted to despair, we know God loves us and is with us. We can be patient because we know Jesus will come again and all bad things in life will finally be set right.
We do not merit any blessing from God, regardless of our personal right-doings. All blessings come from God’s mercy, and without God’s mercy and compassion toward us, we would be at Satan’s pleasure all the time and life on earth would be like Hell.
As it clearly is, for some people.
Same for our children. We love them and show them compassion, supplying their every need, for no reason other than our loving mercy. When we do not, their lives are like hell.
Never forget that.
If we want the blessing of whole adult offspring, we must humble ourselves and patiently endure the working and waiting.
The masses…
Most people today are characterized by impatience and love of ease. They are motivated by immediate and shallow rewards. They seem unwilling to work and wait. They are lured by lottery, credit card debt, and get-rich-quick schemes. They look to preachers who will feed this attitude, teaching Godliness as a means of gain. They have itching ears.
Quitting seems easier.
We should work and wait for the autumn rains. Really.
Don’t quit.
Especially do not quit on your family.
The preacher said:
Let’s think about a bucket, some rocks, and some sand.
Let’s say the rocks illustrate our priorities, our bucket list, and the bucket represents our life. The sand represents all of the other things in life that we have to do.
What happens if we put the sand in the bucket first?
We cannot fit all the rocks in, can we?
Our priorities find themselves crowded out.
However, if we put the rocks in the bucket first, the sand sifts around the rocks. They fill in the cracks or the time we have left after our priorities are accomplished.
Let’s apply that to our “how-to” ideas about home schooling, shall we?
Our priority must be that each human being on this earth should learn to read. Why? Because of Habakkuk 2:2 “[…]the Lord replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that whoever reads it may run with it. […]’”
It is recorded forever in the Word of God, that He expects reading to happen. The very fact that He inspired men to write to us, logically leads to His expectations that we read.
Learning to read does not always happen in some educational settings. The child who is slow to read might never learn in some settings.
We, however, in our own homes, have the privilege of customizing the curriculum to fit the child who needs his schoolwork to come at him from a unique angle. We can drill one phonic concept for two days, if needed. We can read while pointing to allow “sight reading” to materialize. We can try glare management, page masking, and many other techniques, at will. No matter how good a teacher might be, she can hardly do this when she is dealing with 20 new readers at once, can she?
So we prioritize reading.
As the student ages, the obvious may surface, that the child is unable to learn to read. “Unable” is not the same as slow. After a couple of years, if reading is not happening at all, no matter what, then it is time to dump the bucket out and rearrange priorities. The new priority is to make sure literate content reaches this child’s mind through whatever means it takes.
Any writing can be found or created in the audio format.
It becomes the teacher’s duty, then, to provide this input. Although this is a big job, it is not too difficult for one mom with one child, but imagine a teacher of 20 handling it. It’s unfair to her, right?She wants a life, right? But you can do it. In fact, these helps become your priority: They are your life. So at this age, we insert any learning that is age-appropriate, especially Bible, math, and science, always in the audio format. Often, this is how our greatest minds have emerged to benefit mankind. Often, those not programmed to read well, find far more capacity in other disciplines than a good reader does. Although we never stop trying to impress reading skills upon our students, and although they may learn to read as adults, we insist they learn the essentials through whatever means necessary, always looking for that one thing that will be the spark for your own child’s chance at brilliance.
Make a list. Prioritize the big rocks to go into the bucket first.
Yes, you can make a child live happily ever after. That’s a good goal for a life, don’t you think?
You may have noticed my vision is not what it used to be.
You may remember my long ago posts about eye health and the lovely treatments I have received at the hands of an expert ophthalmologist, a pioneer in treating exactly the condition I have suffered: macular edema (ME).
Well, in the words of his assistant, who saw me last Friday, “I have exceptional news for you!”
I did not need a treatment.
I am so excited.
The situation was a bit humorous at first. In my daze of happiness, I automatically exited the exam room and headed for the back hallway where those who need further treatment wait while trying to encourage each other. It is hard, even after two years, to allow someone to give us a shot in the eyeball. For some it is really hard. We have to psyche ourselves up and, some of us being old, we don’t always do a very good job of it.
Sometimes, as the day for an appointment approaches, my husband will catch me sighing or shivering and ask me what is wrong.
I usually tell him, “Oh, just trying not to think about it.”
I don’t have to tell him “what” I’m (not) thinking about anymore.
Anyway, as I headed for the “back row”, the doctor and nurses laughed and reminded me I did NOT need a shot and could leave.
Weird.
I got used to it very quickly, though.
Usually, after the shot, I would drive (I could still see, see?) to the nearest posh restaurant and treat myself to one of their marvelous salads, for being a good girl. Sometimes, if I’d done poorly and felt sorry for myself, I’d add one of their marvelous cheesecakes or a cloud of a tiramisu.
NO CHANGES, THERE, LAST FRIDAY!
The big change—and what seemed oddest—was not needing a Kleenex for my poor eyes, which would usually be irritated by the antiseptics used to prepare the area for this invasive procedure.
But hey! It has worked!
If, at the next monthly checkup, I still can read 20/50 and the ultrasound still looks great, I’ll be switched to every 3 months for my checkups. What a relief!
I am very, very thankful.
But I think I’ll miss my friends on the back row . . .
The preacher said:
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 2:34-35
So went the prophecy spoken over Jesus and Mary when he was presented at the temple as a new-born. A sword would pierce her soul.
We see the Cross differently than Mary did. We see the punishment for our sin, the Lamb of God, atonement, salvation, and eternal life. We look back at the Crucifixion. We gloss over the agony of the Cross because we cannot imagine such horror. Mary saw it as it was happening. She saw her child suffering.
But it was happening before Mary’s horrified eyes: Her child’s blood running down, His labored gasps for air, nails piercing his hands and feet. And there was nothing she could do to help her child.
She saw her child publicly disgraced as He hung naked on the Cross. Crucifixion was intended to be humiliating and painful as a deterrent to crime. All the pride Mary felt for her son was now turned to disgrace in the public eye.
She saw the death of her hopes and dreams. This was the son who was to care for her in old age. This was the son who had achieved so much fame. Her hopes and dreams were great but now they were crushed. Her son was dying. She felt like dying, too.
At the Cross, a sword pierced Mary’s soul. While Jesus purposely suffered to redeem us, Mary was there unwillingly, weeping over the injustice, watching her son die a cruel death. The sword was piercing the heart of a mother’s love.
Jesus was dying for her sins as well, but He also knew what she was suffering. Therefore, as her son, He provided for her future on earth, as well as in Heaven, while He hung on the Cross.
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. John 19:26-27
The cost of our salvation includes shame, suffering, and sacrifice. Willingly, Jesus walked into such a death for us, with a love greater than a mother’s.
Every priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.
For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:
“The time is coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
When I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
And I turned away from them, declares the Lord
This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Hebrews 8:2 NIV
For photos of a life-size replica of the tabernacle, go here!
A dear friend of mine died during elective surgery, 12 years ago.
A home-educating mom, she left behind two young children and their faithful dad. Last time I saw them, the kids were doing fine. Actually, they were not so young anymore, then, one in high school and the other in college. They showed many signs of good parenting. It made me glad for the memory of their mother, my friend.
She had always been so heart-felt. She and I could talk about any serious subject and seemingly always understand each other before we had completed a sentence. When a subject was especially deep or important to her, she would become misty-eyed as she spoke. That happens to me, too, and often did when we conversed. We both understood that about each other.
This seriousness in her shows in her children. Oh, they laugh. In fact, their beautiful smiles erupt at any chance, and they see the humor in life’s oddities, all the time.
They are not silly, though. They are something more like blossoming or fruitful. They have combined the gentle rain their dad always supplied into their lives with the sunlight their mother always added. They have become strong, tall trees and have dedicated their lives to doing right. It makes me glad for the memory of their mother, my friend.
Somewhere out there exists a video of her delivering an impromptu speech about her strong convictions on homeschooling. She is near tears as she speaks for the record, as I was every time I viewed it. She pleaded with parents to take their children seriously.
This distillation of her heartbeat riveted me to my seat on every viewing. She was younger than I was, then, far younger than I am now, yet her bold insistence on protecting and preparing children imparted strength to my backbone. Only a hardhearted person could walk away from the truth she expressed without pondering, at least, if there might not somehow be more…
She makes me want more, every time I remember her. More grace. More energy. More conviction. More boldness. More follow-through. More prayer. More tears when I talk.
More blossoms and fruit on my trees.
More sun and rain on my trees.
More.
Home's Cool! 