Back to School Part 1

Back to school season is here! This has always been one of my favorite times of the year. I LOVE school, but not for the socializing, the sports, or the music. I was that super awesome nerd that really liked sitting in the front row of class. I can remember being traumatized when I grew 6 inches in third grade and was moved to the back of the class so other students could see the board. My obsession with school got worse the older I got. By the time I was finished with college I knew I would be a lifelong student.

So if I write about Christian Women’s issues, why am I blabbering about back to school? I am pursuing a teaching certification. In fact, I am pretty much done with it (other than my internship). The more that I prepare to teach in the public school system, the stronger my resolve to keep my children out of public school. Do not mishear me,  I believe teachers are incredible people! I have had people tell me that the only reason that I am teaching is because I can’t do anything else, or to bide my time until I get married. This is not the case. Romans 12:7 says, “If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.”  It takes a special person to take someone else’s child and help to mold their minds and their futures. However, I have come to the decision that when the time comes, I will take my leave of teaching to stay home with my children. 

As a former feminist, the idea that I want to stay home with my children is CRAZY. I mean, as a feminist I should want more than to stay at home with my kids right? What about that glass ceiling that needs to be broken? “Breaking the glass ceiling” is not what God has called me to do with my life. God has called me to raise a godly, Christ-centered family. I do not feel that I would be doing my family justice if I were to abdicate my God-given role of homemaker and nurturer simply because my child reached age five and is entering kindergarten.  

The Bible says specifically that we are to, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it,” Proverbs 22:6.  This is our awesome responsibility as Christian, to train up children in the way of the Lord.  Children are the future, they are the only thing that we leave behind when we die that matters. I want to leave the best possible legacy that I can. I believe that sending my children to public school would diminish my opportunity to create disciples for the kingdom of Christ. Psalm 145:4 says, “One generation shall praise Thy works to another, And shall declare Thy mighty acts.” I think that it is vital for Christian parents to take the lead in educating their children so that they are able to show Christ’s love and mercy in all aspects of life, not just at church on Sunday mornings.