This post is from contributor, Heather Haupt
“Mooooooooooooooom, I just can’t do it,” my son shrieks. It is time for a spelling quiz and this son of mine just can’t buckle down. Every word seems challenging and he claims to be completely incapable of writing anything down.
“Honey, why don’t you break the word down and sound it out. Small syllables are so much easier to figure out…”
“I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan’t.”
It is easy to see we are going nowhere fast. I change tactics and declare a brain break. Upon returning, he gingerly makes his way through the rest of the quiz before we break for some read-aloud time. Later we pull out math when the exact same thing happens. He snaps at his baby sister walking by {which is out of character for him} and appears to feign ignorance on math concepts that have previously been mastered.
We take a time out. A simple brain break isn’t cutting it. Something is going on and I’m at a loss. We sit down to talk it out – except that seems to push him over the edge too. It’s as if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Something snaps in me, and in frustration I send him packing up to that same bed to try getting up from the other side.
He cries the whole way up and I slip into the bathroom where I can cry in private for a bit too.
Parenting is hard. Homeschooling merely amplifies it. In my private prayer place {oh, is that your private prayer place too?} I pour out my heart. Very clearly God impresses on my mind to march upstairs and go pray WITH my son.
Pray with him? Why hadn’t I done that sooner.
I peek into his room and he looks up stiffly, expecting another lecture or more ‘what are you feeling?’ questions… I climb up to the top bunk and sit next to him–pouring out what I was sensing from the Lord and how we needed to pray together. Why? Because while neither of us knows what to do, we belong to the God who listens, to the God who provides. We fumble around with words – just talking to God. Honest, rough, raw.
When we open our eyes and look at each other, there is a peace. The torment in his eyes is gone; the “I think I’ll go crazy if one more person cries” stress in my shoulders is gone. We rest in Him and His promises.
He hears us, He’s given us the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. So we stop striving and start listening. Perspective returns to our home.
And I’m reminded yet again of the many lessons that don’t fit the tidy little box of academics and yet so desperately need to be learned.
We’ve all had bad days, haven’t we? So what is the secret to turning around bad days? What is the secret to making good days better?
Perspective
The first thing to go is perspective. Circumstances don’t even have to be that bad. If we lose perspective, everything else seems to sink too.
Find It:
When we lose perspective we need to set our hearts and minds on finding it. How? PRAYER. Connecting with God and giving Him our worries. It can be raining down fire and brimstone in your life, but if you set your eyes on Jesus, he brings perspective and nothing can shake you. We need to realize this, and then teach our children to find perspective too.
When you are having a bad day, do whatever it takes to spend time with Him – whether that means hiding in the bathroom, taking a short walk so you can pray, blowing bubble prayers, or however else you find you or your children can quiet your hearts and listen to Him.
Keep It:
Instead of waiting to lose our perspective, let’s be proactive to KEEP it! Because I’ve been working with my children on this, it’s helped keep us all accountable. We PRAY throughout the day – thanking God for provision and any little thing that delights us. And when challenges come our way, we encourage one another to keep our eyes glued to Jesus. I always think of Peter walking on water. He could do the impossible when his eyes were stayed on Jesus. The minute he took them off, he started to sink.
So the next time you or your children find life at that moment overwhelming, find perspective through prayer. And if life is going great and you can’t stop smiling, stop and shout out praise to God!
It truly is a recipe that makes for beautiful days no matter what the circumstances may be in your life!
Heather H
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This is perfect timing, a very strong willed son, mixed with moving across the country, and homeschooling for the 1st time, equals NO perspective on a regular basis! Your story is beautiful, sometimes I forget to just STOP, hand it over to God, and pray alone/with my son. Thanks for the gentle reminder !