Monday, July 21, 2008

Convenience Parenting

We live in a culture of convenience don't we? Certainly if something is more convenient, we might pay more for it. Who wants to skin those carrots when you can buy some that SOMEONE ELSE has already skinned and prepared. Ah.. the luxury! Just rinse and pop right into your mouth.
Look a little closer though. Those baby carrots cost twice as much more and you get less! It only takes a couple of minutes to skin them, so why not do a tiny bit of extra work so you can be a good steward of your money?

I am laughing at myself for using this example, because yes, I have on occasion bought the baby carrots. And of course I am not criticizing anyone for buying them. That would be absurd.
But it does present such a great teachable moment doesn't it? *grin*

I was having a conversation with a friend recently. The conversation was geared in the direction of how inconvenient parenting our kids can be. She basically said that sending them to school is the only break we get from them so,for goodness sakes, why in the world would you HOME-SCHOOL them? You are nuts, Kim! She then continued on and on about how inconvenient children are.

What about a missionary? As a friend once stated, no one questions the sacrifices that a missionary goes through to take the gospel to the lost. Most people don't even question if they can or cannot do it. God will help them because He called them to do it. But when it comes to motherhood, then our convenience is always considered. Is motherhood always easy? Did God call me to motherhood? Are my children my mission field? If He did give these little treasures to me to parent, does that not mean that He trusts me (calls me) to do the WORK it takes to teach them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?

What about my own selfish desires?

If God called me to motherhood, then it's my job to be the mother He called me to be regardless of what I may or may not want. We are all so caught up in "me-ism". We are so worried about "ME" time, that we are missing out on the biggest joys of life.

Are we so worried about ourselves that we aren't willing to DIE to ourselves? Some of the most awesome moments in my parenting have come when I chose to put my own wishes aside and pray with, play with, read to, and teach my boys.

I don't know about anyone else, but I not only expect hardship but I hope that when it does come I will embrace each moment as teachable. Molding me and my family into what God calls us to be. I can do nothing else but obey His calling and embrace it regardless if it gets in the way of what I want for me.

What am I teaching my boys if instead of facing hardship head on, I run the other way?

Recently I was thinking that maybe I should "lay off" on being so open about my housekeeping difficulties. I have noticed that, for example, I might say things to whoever may be standing beside me at the time, "I just cannot keep up with this laundry!". I think I should maybe lay off being so open so that people won't think "well, if she can't handle that then she can't handle homeschooling".
Or if I say, "Wow, I am tired today", then for some reason people take that as an opening to say "well you chose that road when you chose to home-school".

But on the other hand if I pretend to be "miss perfect" then deep down I think I am being somewhat hypocritical. Yes, I am sure I do need to lay off telling about every struggle but, on the other hand, I am a REAL person with real struggles. And these real struggles may be hard, BUT should I allow them to keep me from pursuing God's calling on my life.

No, home-schooling won't be easy. But does it HAVE TO BE EASY for me to embrace it?
No one expects that missionary to just chuck his call to the mission field just because it will be hard? We have been so brainwashed in this culture to run from hard-ship that we are missing out on God's blessings. May I embrace God's call on my life... even the hard things. Perhaps one day I will be able to look back and see how God used it (hardship & trials) to mold our family's character into what God would have us to be.