I have always felt like an alien. I just never saw things the same as the people around me, what appealed to them never appealed to me.
I always was a believer and a child of God and I wanted to live for him wholly but that was not an easy standard to stick to going to school and surrounded by the people who I was surrounded by.
So I tried to fit in and embrace a sinful lifestyle, but I truly never fit in.
Then one day I got married and was taken away from the life I have always known. Removed from my past and taken toward a future, a new place, and a new season.
When that happened, I was freer to be the alien I always knew I was, luckily I married an alien just like me, who saw things the way I did and whose goals and vision aligned with mine. Together we wanted our goals and vision to align with God’s plan for our lives. So we pursued him.
I have seen God bless this union and our home in so many ways. He provided us with beautiful places to live, he provided our needs, he provided experiences, sometimes he gave us just what we desired in such amazing ways, but most of all he has blessed us with four, soon to be five precious treasures, our children.
I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom; a life I have chosen and am contented with. This a lifestyle choice that is suddenly not very highly respected or honored. Many people including other women don’t seem to understand why a woman would choose to stay home with her kids all day, instead of going and making something of herself in a career.
It is as though, if I do this then I am wasting my years. I don’t see it that way, I believe this is the greatest calling God can ask of a person. I get to shape human beings and send them into the world to make it brighter. This world has gotten darker and uglier and it needs as much light as it could get. I am honored with the charge of sending out some of that light.
If I leave this earth and all I ever did was be a Godly woman, a good wife and mother. I would consider my destiny fulfilled, my life blessed and my time on earth well spent.
I am one of the strange women who wants to mother, nurture and teach my children. Mold them into who God made them to be, teach them about God’s beautiful earth, teach them to love and seek him and to have him as a part of their everyday lives, to teach them Godly characteristics, to hone their talents and spiritual gifts and to help them to grow into the best they can be. That is a job, worth living for.
The reactions from people around me, even Christians, baffles me. They act as though what we are doing is wrong. I am currently pregnant with my fifth child (one of my children died at 5 days old), and I didn’t feel like I could freely share the news and receive genuine joy and congratulations. It felt as though I had to down play the news and even apologize or make an excuse for it. I don’t know why human culture has evolved into this. Each child should be like adding a million dollars or more to your bank account.
Yet, questions like “Are you done now?” and “Don’t you guys have a tv?” came our way. Statements like “Stop, doing this to this woman,” my husband has heard.
And to answer those two questions, no, we are not done, if it is God’s will and no, we don’t have a t.v in our house.
So, there are two out of the ordinary things right there. I actually feel in my heart that I would like to have seven kids and foster/adopt others as our life progress. The things the people with worldly thinking thinks are not the way we think.
Whatever blessing God sends our way, he WILL provide what we need to take care of them. He has so far, so why will He stop now.
As for not having a t.v. The response I got to that one, was my brother compared us to the Amish. If only he knew or people knew how much more peaceful, happier and productive our home has been since making that decision. It’s been three weeks so far and no regrets, but that is a conversation for another time.
I am about to be blessed with another baby very soon, my due date is tomorrow. Pray for me, if you read this article before then.
Peace, Love & Blessings
May God be with you always.
Latisha,
As a homeschooling veteran of 17 years (both girls accepted to college, one graduated, and both now out on their own), I am so thankful I chose to homeschool. I don’t regret a minute of it, although there were some really hard spots, both in my parenting, my marriage, and in my own spiritual life. I’ve blogged about it on my homeschooling tab on my blog. I’d love for you to stop by and be encouraged by someone who’s come out on the other side and pronounced it GOOD! Blessings, Lori (Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women).
Thanks for posting! I have many similar convictions and often feel like a weirdo as well! When I was 14, I chose to be homeschooled myself and everyone thought that was crazy and disappointing (“But you’re so smart…”). I loved being homeschooled and it worked out so much better for me but it seems like all people could see was that it wasn’t normal. I think sometimes people don’t give others the freedom to make honest choices about how their family can best live a God-honoring life. Keep holding to your convictions and seeking to honor God!