Breaking the Rules – Part 1
Social media is tricky. As many of you know, I have a love-hate relationship with it… especially when it comes to the unintended peer pressure. Of course, there are all the beautiful pictures that allow the enemy to whisper that everyone is looking and doing better than you. (Please don’t fall into that trap.) Underneath that more obvious ploy is also the way you feel like a less-than wife, mom, daughter, etc, if you don’t have an equally over-the-top post for every birthday, holiday, and accomplishment for the members of your family. Does anyone know what I’m saying?For all of the above, I’m always resistant to put too much out there, gushing about my kids… but today, I’m breaking that rule. Some of you are about to lose your mind homeschooling your kids. You need some encouragement. Let this encourage you if you have children in your home and have ever silently wondered if they were going to end up on drugs, arrested, dropped out of school, fired for being a loudmouth, or anything else remotely in that category. If you’re raising angels, this blog is not for you!During my son’s childhood, we had some rough spots. In first grade, the teachers started asking about ADHD testing and medicine. By third grade, Mark had been labeled the big, loud kid. Not once, but twice, I homeschooled my son… at the school’s request. The school had no idea the hurdles of shame and sense of doubt their decisions would bring.Throughout the entire journey, we prayed, we disciplined, we counseled, we coached. I also worried. A lot. He was smart but never motivated to truly push himself. I refused to be the helicopter mom who wanted it more than he did. That meant he went through high school in standard classes. Unchallenged by his choice.Fast forward however many years...
This month, Mark was selected as one of 40 male juniors from the entire University of Alabama to be part of Jason’s – one of their most distinguished honor societies.
He was nominated as Junior of the Year.
He has spent his three years of college pursuing a double major in Finance and Accounting while starting a non-profit, Literacy2Work.
His non-profit has enabled him to lead other college students in helping third graders in Tuscaloosa to become proficient readers.
He has secured internships with one of the big four corporations in accounting and the top finance institution in the country.
Moms. Keep persevering. You will make it. Back talk and all.The one piece of advice I’d give is to keep helping your child believe they’re gifted and wired by God. They are not troublemakers. They are not screw-ups. They are growing into who God made them to be. Even if they make mistakes along the way, they join the ranks of every other human being.Whether they get to all their work this semester or not, they need to know God loves them and – just as important at this stage – that you believe in them. It’ll keep them going even when they can’t believe it for themselves. And one day, you can watch them blossom.