Today is September 1. If you teach your children at home, many of you are back to the books, and if not yet, you’re getting ready to start again after the summer break. The school room (if you have one – I don’t) is clean and organized, book shelves (we’ve lots of them) are tidy, pens and pencils new and sharp, notebooks fresh (yup, lots of paper and scribbling tools too).

It’s the start of the new year. And you are energized to get started.

Today I want to encourage you, home schooling mom.

The day will come when all is not shiny and new. That school room neat today will be a wreck. Those pens and pencils and crisp paper? Lost in sofa cushions or broken or squirreled away by the toddler when you weren’t looking. (Sigh. I definitely have one of those).

Not only that – your house will be a wreck, dinner forgotten, still frozen in the freezer and the kids are driving you to lock yourself in the bathroom – the only place in the house sometimes where we can find privacy (me again).

I’ve been at this home schooling for awhile, and if you have too, you know it’s true.

This is hard work.

This post is for you, teacher mama. I want you to bookmark it; print it out if you must.

When you are wondering why you do this, when it would be so much easier not to home school.

Take heart, home schooling mom. You can do this. You’re their mommy. Maybe you don’t want to admit it publicly at times (ahem). But trust me on this, friends.

You can do it. I know as I get back to teaching my children – this will be my cry:

I can do all things…

Come on, finish it with me.

… through Christ who strengthens me.

A verse for every Christ-following home educator.

Now go stare at that beautiful organization, because it won’t last long.

© 2008 Monica Brand | Paper Bridges