Frustration Circle Part III

If you are just joining the series, I have been addressing the issue of frustration in homeschooling from the point of view of the parent.

I looked up frustrate on dictionary.com:

frustrate- to make (plans, efforts, etc) worthless or of no avail; defeat, nullify: The student’s indifference frustrated the teacher’s efforts to help him.

Wow!  The sample sentence couldn’t be any more right on.  It doesn’t just hit the nail on the head, it drives it into the wood with one fell swoop, splinters flying.   Dictionary.com, have you been reading my blog or my mind?

Let me backtrack and dispel a myth about homeschoolers that I hear frequently:

Homeschoolers are more patient then the rest of the human race.

How do I know people think this?  Because if I had a dollar for every time someone said to me, “I could never homeschool, I don’t have the patience,” I could go on vacation!

Homeschoolers are not born with an extra dose of patience, like an extra muscular arm, allowing us to remain calm in the cyclone of a child having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day).  We are just flesh and blood humans like the of the population.

This is the number one reason that it is easy to stay in the frustration circle-we are human.  Even Peter, the disciple, thought there should be a limit on forgiveness.

 ” One day, while walking with Jesus he asked, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?”

Jesus replied, “Seven!  Hardly.  Try seventy times seven….” Matthew 18:21,22, The Message

Seven is the number of perfection, so in other words, Jesus is saying we need to keep forgiving a person for the same offense until they are perfect or we are and have not the need to.  Let’s face it, that won’t be until Jesus returns or we die.

So, Mom, ask for grace.  Jesus understands our weaknesses, it is when we step back and lean on Him, He is  our Strength and our Stronghold, yours and mine.

Why is it so difficult to forgive our child of repeated offenses?  Watch for some theories in Part IV on Wednesday.  Tuesday, watch for time saving tips!