In the last Beam, I talked about how John had just returned, tired but excited, from Virginia. Soon after he got home, it was my turn! My daughter Jonelle, her little girl and I traveled to visit Amy and her family on the farm two weeks ago. We all had a great time, got our hands dirty, put a lot of plants in the ground, and laughed a lot. It was good to spend the week with children and grandchildren.
As promised in the last Beam, I'd like to share lesson #3 of what I've learned from Amy and Phil's adventure in farming. (If you missed them last time, read lessons #1 and #2 here.)
Lesson #3: Resist a discouraging lie
Over the past few years, I've seen how easy it would be for Amy and Phil to succumb to the thought that their lives will always be as they are now. That they will always live in a tiny construction trailer. That they will always be novices at farming. That they will always feel on the verge of being overwhelmed.
And don't we all face a similar temptation? How many times have you thought my house will NEVER be clean; my children will never mature; my son will never learn to read (or multiply two-digit numbers, or ...); I will never feel like I'm doing enough in homeschooling; I will always feel overwhelmed by laundry. And on and on.
I do NOT believe such thoughts come from the Lord. I think they are lies that Satan wants us to believe. The Enemy loves to discourage us, and the lie that "life will always be like this" (especially when we're already frustrated with something) is often a pretty effective way to get us down. But remember—the Enemy is a deceiver. He does NOT know the future! Yet he so often manipulates our weaknesses and tempts us to lose hope.
Only God knows what our lives hold for us. And our God is a God of hope. He doesn't promise that our lives will get easier, but he does promise never to abandon or forsake us. And that is cause for celebration.
I believe knowledge is power here. As we identify Satan's lies in our lives, we are better equipped to resist them. So please: hope in God and resist lies! Amy has learned to remind herself that she will not always live in a trailer. After they get the land in working order, they will (God willing) have a larger, nicer dwelling. But for now, they choose to live in the trailer because of their longer-term goals for the farm and their family.
We too can choose to look at the long-view. Sure, your house may not be as clean as you want it to be now, but maybe that's a trade-off you're willing to make while the kids are young. Someday, when your house isn't full of little people, you can have it as clean as you want!
And chances are pretty good that your children will mature with age, your son will learn to read (or conquer his current academic struggle) ... and your laundry will actually slow down one day.
For now, you choose to keep your children home because of the larger picture of what you want your family to be. As homeschoolers, let us take the long view and keep pressing on.
God bless you in that worthy endeavor.
Sarita
[…] me encourage you with what I wrote about last month: life will not always be as it is now. Though Satan tries to trick us into despair, he does not know the future, so we choose to trust […]
Thank you so much for these encouraging words. How often I have recently thought "I will have to live with this for the rest of my life" when of course that is not true. Sometimes I wonder especially if my 4 year old will ever mature. Yet I know she is only 4, but with 4 children 4 and under I end up expecting too much from her sometimes. I try to remember that it will not always be the way it is now, but still feel the pressure of everyday life. Thank you for the reminder to refocus on trusting the Lord and and not believe the enemy. Thank you for the encouragement that is not just my house that is always a mess with little ones, and that one day, I will be able to have a clean home!
Wow! How reassuring it is for me to know that I am not the only one who has had those exact same 'thoughts' that DO seem to be realistic when their not. Those thoughts that I have had that I have never shared with anyone and that have brought me at times discouragement, anger, anxiety and sadness. The thoght of my child never maturing and having this overwhelming feeling that this is what I am going to deal with for the rest of my life. Thoughts are vicious at times and thanking for making me see that those 'thoughts' are lies from the enemy.
God's timing is perfect as always!! I was so down until I read this! I have Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction syndrome and homeschool my daughter. My CFIDS hits when I least expect it! What a beautiful passage you wrote! THANKS SO MUCH!!!
Hi Pam....I have had CFIDS in the past. I am praying for you. Please ask your doctor to check for a specific gene called HLA DR. Many many times in CFIDS patients this will show up as a genetic predisposition. Investigate Dr Schaller's book Mold Warriors. It was a huge blessing to me. It's worth a shot! Trust the Lord and know that he will direct your path.