It’s all up to YOU…NOT!!!!

It’s amazing how quickly time flies when you’re homeschooling your children. As I write this, my beloved wife is up in the school room struggling through another day of school with our three youngest.

I remember when we started this whole shooting match. My wife was excited, nervous, and inexperienced. Ben and Sam were our only students, and they were excited about starting school. They got their art boxes, #2 pencils, and a few other supplies. Then they spent their morning listening to my wife read wonderful living books, coloring pictures, and painfully copying letters.

Now, they’re both graduated (along with their sister Katherine and Ike), are working, and Ben has been married for over three years and has a child. Wow. It went so fast. During the entire process we wondered if they would be prepared to “face the future.” Would they be able to get jobs, support families, and…spell a simple word?!!

We plugged away and the more we plugged, the more convinced we became that what matters most is NOT spelling, math, and ‘subjects.’ What my children needed to know about life after school was what they were learning every day and every waking hour at HOME (and in our RV).

They were learning to trust God in all circumstances, love their future spouse and children by watching how we loved each other, and how to be diligent, responsible, kind, and a bunch of other things that they were sure to need once they graduated from Wilson homeschool.

That didn’t take away the fear of “will they be prepared,” it just redirected the fear. It seemed to compound when Ben proposed to Rissa. He had graduated and had a job…but now the fear of whether he was ready for marriage gnawed at us. He still had areas to mature in…to grow in…to learn.

The day finally came on three Junes ago. The wedding took place in our yard and the day was perfect. The sun was shining, the air was clear, and the yard was immaculate. I had always envisioned that as my son walked down the aisle, I would be a puddle of emotion. I would sniff through the entire service and drop into bed bawling like a child who had lost his blankey. But it wasn’t that way.

The day came, and I felt happy. He walked down the aisle, kissed his bride, cut the cake, danced the first dance, and drove away for his honeymoon amidst a driveway lined with sparklers…and I felt overjoyed and HAPPY.

In fact, there was not one smidgen of sadness in my whole being. None! He was ready to be married, to have his own family, to handle the financial pressures of being on his own, and for all the other things God would bring his way.

And here’s the deal, my fellow scared to death parents: he DIDN’T learn it all from his mom and dad or from homeschool. The truth is God has many more lessons for him after graduation and after marriage. Some of the lessons will be painful and embarrassing, but God is going to complete what he started, not only in Ben and Rissa…but also in all of my children and in all of YOURS.

That takes a lot of pressure off us as parents. Yes, we need to be diligent in teaching them the things that really matter. We need to show our children how to ask forgiveness from our spouse or how to OFFER forgiveness to our spouse because one day they’ll need to do that with their spouse.

We need to show our children how to trust in God in all circumstances because one day they’ll have to trust God in their circumstances. We need to show our children how to love unconditionally because one day they’ll have to love unconditionally. We need to show our children how to be kind, work hard, complete a task, guard themselves, and all the things that we need to do daily. BUT…

And it’s a big but, you won’t be able to cover it all or cover it perfectly. You’re going to have gaps, have modeled it incorrectly, or even neglected some areas. You can’t cover it all and cover it perfectly. Some of the lessons will get lodged in their heads and never make it to their hearts. Some of the lessons might get lost in the busyness of a teenager’s brain…but do not be afraid. The most important lessons are the ones God is going to teach them after they graduate your homeschool.

So, try to enjoy the process of school because it passes so quickly. Smile lots and do not be afraid…of what you might overlook or fail to cover adequately.

They will learn what really matters by watching you day in and day out. And as scary as that may seem, KNOW this: God is going to complete what He started in your children. And that should make you smile.