by Shari McMinn

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. (James 3:1–3 ESV)

During our two decades of homeschooling on our remote northeastern Colorado farm, it was a coveted treat for our children to get to ride horses with dear old Dad, if their schoolwork was well completed for the day. My husband, Cary, was an architect and college professor, but above all, he was a cowboy. We had nearly a dozen horses from which our family members could choose a mount, and we needed that many for everyone to have their own ride. 

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By guest author Suzanne Wales

Raise your hand if you have made a parenting mistake in your homeschool. My hand is up too. Thankfully, we serve a loving, gracious God who can turn our failures into beautiful opportunities for redemption. 

It had been two weeks since I’d followed up. This has happened more times than I care to admit in the last sixteen years of homeschooling. I allowed my own business to become a priority over following up on my children’s education. Independence is important, but it does not mean we leave our children to their own devices, nor should we neglect accountability. This last time, however, my spouse brought to my attention that I seemed overly busy with my own affairs, and he believed our children needed help and accountability. As I pondered his words, I renewed my pledge to follow up just after finishing my project, which, by the way, was to last a few more days.

I know you can see what was going on, but I was blind to the fact I was still putting myself first. There was a lot of “I and me,” and very little “one-anothering” going on by me inside the four walls of our home. Thankfully God in His kindness does not allow us as His children to remain in our current state. He opened my eyes to the example I was setting when I observed one of my children dismissing an opportunity to help a sibling who asked for help with a chore that was too difficult to be handled alone by one so small. It did not hit me right away that this was my lesson. I called out the child at fault for dismissing an opportunity to help in lieu of continuing on with what they wanted to do, but what happened next was painful, humbling, and life giving all at once.

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