Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…. Proverbs 9:10a

Reading “Parenting Is Your Highest Calling” and 8 Other Myths That Trap Us in Worry and Guilt by Leslie Leyland Fields has reminded me that seeking the will of God for my family- seeking Him above my family-is the best way to parent. When following someone else’s rules and regulations simply because they sound biblical can cause problems if that path is not God’s will for my family.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (Amplified Bible)

5Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

6In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

These verses show how personal each one of our journeys are. Each of us must seek the Lord and His will for our lives. When He reveals His will to us, each of us must not try to understand how or why, we must do it.

For example, I know that it is God’s will for me to homeschool my children. I can still vividly remember the day that God instructed me to do so. It is the only time in my life that I heard God speak in an audible voice, an event of historical biblical proportions. On that monumental day, I began my homeschooling journey with no more information on the subject except a command. I have been homeschooling for sixteen years, with two of my seven graduated.

When I first began homeschooling, I did not know that God’s plan included enlarging my family through the adoption of four children from Poland. Now, over a decade later, I can read my written histories in journals and see the benefits of homeschooling evident in my children. Homeschooling has allowed me to address the specific needs of all of my children, but especially my newer Guires who were learning to be part of a family, a new language and a new culture. My seven-year- old had already learned to read and write in Polish, so he was learning all of it over in a new language. Now I know some of the reason; I may not know it all yet, but, I can see a portion. I do not need to understand, I simply need to be obedient.

When God prescribed this lifestyle for my family, I didn’t understand and it did not fit with the church culture. I didn’t know anyone else who was homeschooling, yet I did it- AFRAID.

The point is, when seeking the Lord is first, He will direct your parenting path. Am I prescribing homeschooling? No! I am advising seeking the Lord first for your family. He will direct the path for your family. When He reveals His will for your family, do it. Be firm. Stick to His will whether the church culture is or not. Do not go with the flow. If God tells you to skip Halloween and nobody else does, skip it. If He tells you to start a blueberry farm, do it. Whatever YOUR HAND FINDS TO DO, DO IT WITH ALL OF YOUR MIGHT(Caps mine)!