Her Greatest Strength is Prayer

The moments you fall short do not define you. The goals you have set, but aren’t quite able to meet do not deem you unsuccessful. Just because you aren’t a perfect mother, daughter, friend, teacher, or Christian, doesn’t mean you aren’t a good one. Life doesn’t always go as planned, in fact, you’ll often find your plans must change to better accommodate life. Since I was a young child, my life was planned out. I knew exactly who I wanted to be and what it would take to get there. Little did I know, at 27 years old, none of the things I once wished for would come true. It’s funny how life does that. Just carries on with or without you. I believe the only way to keep up is by simply learning to navigate through what we cannot control. Take motherhood, for instance. I set out to homeschool my daughter, Ally, this year. I bought the proper material, did the proper research, and planned my little heart away. We began day one of school just like the rest of the world, with pure confidence and utter excitement. However, unlike the rest of the world, we were completely unprepared. Ally was unprepared for my strict agenda, and I was unprepared for her lack of interest. By the end of the day I was left feeling completely overwhelmed and defeated. This feeling lasted the next day, and the next, and before I knew it a week had passed and Ally had learned nothing. I finally had to stop, collect my thoughts, and take a step back. We took a few days off while I reassessed our ultimate goal(s), and decided to re-adjourn in September with all new material. I quickly realized my expectations for Ally were too high and that I wasn’t a failure for not being able to shove information she just wasn’t ready for down her throat. I found a curriculum that sparked my interest and included lots of hands on activities for my little ones busy mind. Today, unlike our original “first day of school”, incorporated no meltdowns, temper tantrums, or mini nervous breakdowns. Our day started with prayer, and ended with laughter. I accepted what I could not change, and found a way to keep going. I truly believe a women’s greatest gift is motherhood, and her greatest strength is prayer.

Without prayer, I wouldn’t have the will to continue through the disappointment. For a planner like myself, set backs affect me harder than I’d like to admit. I never for a second thought I would be homeschooling in a camper in my families yard. If you talked to me a year ago, I would have told you that this time this year I would be living in my freshly built farmhouse on my freshly bought land in the woods. While this is still in the making, my timeframe has been put on hold. In fact, I no longer have a timeframe. Instead, my family of three shares a tiny, quant camper that the Lord has so graciously blessed us with. And my hopes for a glorious homeschool room with built in bookshelves will just have to wait. Instead, our homeschool room consists of our kitchen/living/dining rooms, which all happen to share the same room. Is this where I thought I’d be? No. Was I completely devastated at first? Yes. But like God has so often reminded me, my life is on His time table, not my own. My plans are meaningless if they don’t align with His. So, today, in my camper, with our new homeschool material, we experienced joy. Despite not being where we thought, we are at peace. We have a roof over our head (a pretty cute one I might add), and plenty of new learning opportunities. Today, I thanked God a little more, and Ally learned a little more willingly. We began @thepeacefulpress preschool curriculum today accompanied with a few things from @confessionsofahomeschooler and @thisreadingmama as well as God’s Design “Life for Beginners” by @masterbooks ❤️