God's Family in a Secular World
God's Family in a Secular World
God's Family in a Secular World
As if right on cue, my message from God is perfectly clear through our scriptures of the day. For weeks, we have been wrestling with that great Y in the road of education for my oldest child, who will enter kindergarten in September. As the Godless public school was never an option; what choices remained were a costly private school, a less costly part-time homeschool program (both Catholic based), or a full fledged commitment to homeschool. As the subject has surfaced a curious number of times over the last week, I feel compelled to defend my stance for leaning in the direction we have dared to lean.The objections of homeschooling have heavily weighed on my mind. My husband and I were both students in the public school system from kindergarten all the way through college. It is not with prideful sense that I cling to this idea of a spiritually prized life due to merits of my own.
I fully realize what a gift that we have been give in his role as youth minister. Much time in our days is truly spent on scripture, research, and the spiritual development of our entire household. Anyone that enters is sure to tell you that our home is not one that ever shies away from discussions of politics or especially religion. It is quite obviously (and apparently mildly offensive to some) that the center of our world is the faith and love we have as a young Catholic family. We do not feel that we reached this point in our lives by choice alone; but rather by Grace.The educational avenue our parents chose for us is in stark contrast to the avenue we choose for our children.
Once again, this guidance does not come from choice alone, but by Grace as well. Our parents made the most perfect decisions for our public school paths, decisions that place great insight into our cyclical and hopeful perspectives for the paths of our children. Without seeing the origins of a system that has gone so dreadfully wrong in recent years, we may not have found the absolute conviction in our hearts to steer far, far away. To have this opportunity to truly detach ourselves from the norms that exist and faulty socialist ideas that prevail, is a gift we recognize as uncommon for two middle-class public school kids. To make that same public school choice in modern times would be like playing russian-roulette in a room full of innocent children.
I struggle as a newly converted Catholic Christ follower to hide my sentiments of horror and disbelief. In my walk of conversion, I know that God's time will slowly train me to handle my frustration with more grace; but today, the poor examples that run rampant in our society regularly provoke questions that I cannot contain. These examples often preview a glimmer of hope for what could have been. My questions do not stem from curiosity alone, but from this place inside me that has always been compassionately devoted to the possibility of a new and improved species of human beings. Sometimes I just have to know what makes a person tick, or make a decision, rather it be good or bad. I seek answers not for the sake of judgment, but for the sake of learning lessons outside of my own experiences in this very short life.I'm afraid that the subject of education has become one of those subjects that I have found increasingly more difficult to hide my horror and disbelief.
As prefaced above, I share these thoughts not for the sake of casting judgment, but for the chance that one family may be similarly challenged to choose their responsibility to their family above their love of material possessions and restless, greedy desire for always wanting more. For the sake of our children, our future and for our single-parent counterparts of society that do not have the luxury of making this commitment a priority, we are called to shed light upon this necessary educational revolution. Those of us that did receive our foundations within the rapidly declining public system are perhaps held to even higher expectations of relational ministry within our circles of friends with similar backgrounds. We have seen the disasters that have only deepened and worsened in recent years in a system that directs our youth away from good morale, integrity, and an education of substance.
Instead, we have a system that tosses our children full-fledge into a Godless pool of over competitiveness, temptation, secular standards, unrealistic classrooms and watered-down curriculums that stifle that youthful, natural curiosity for learning. Deep in our hearts, we public schooled students know the truth of this educational tragedy and owe it to our children, our children's children and the next generation to turn it back around. Perhaps we would not find ourselves in such a tragic place if more of our brothers and sisters had followed the advice of such scriptures like those of today:
"However, take care and be earnestly on your guardnot to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,but teach them to your children and to your children's children."
As our kindergarten Y in the road draws near, I steadily am graced with the confidence and faith that God, too will walk with me through this adventurous journey of preparing our children for a successful spiritual journey of their own. At the end of this life, I know that I am most responsible for the souls that were entrusted into my care. I am not responsible for how anyone else in this world chooses to persecute my values and priorities. Our most important roles as parents should be to guide them into a Heavenly life with God's family, rather than focus on how others on earth view their social skills, pitching arm, or taste in fashion. I pray that the abundant curriculum and socialization resources of the Church and beautiful surrounding Austin communities will far exceed my expectations. I pray that our devotion will inspire others to make command decisions to keep their family first in their lives. I pray that we continue to grow stronger as God's family in a secular world.
http://www.articlesbase.com/homeschooling-articles/gods-family-in-a-secular-world-4580628.html
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