You know the expression, “Home is where the Heart is.” We really feel that since God made us a family, our hearts ought to be at home; we should all gravitate not just toward this place, but towards one another. It is our goal to mutually encourage and edify one another, and to help support each other in our walk with Christ. Particularly when it comes to our children, we (as parents) believe that if their attentions or affections are focused elsewhere, they will not be as likely to embrace the lifestyle of faith that is so important for us to pass along to them.
So we emphasize our bond as family; we work and play together, we minister together in the community as much as is practical, and we pray and try to live God’s Word together. This creates an atmosphere of unity and love, with all of us generally remaining focused on what is most important.
You may have noticed that lately (the past two or three weeks) we haven’t been very bloggy. Well, it started with a visit from my sister. It was a wonderful week and a great family time–much needed and much appreciated. But with all of that came a necessary dividing of attentions and a lesser focus on some of the things that normally are a part of our daily family life. That is to be expected.
After this time I would usually have gone about “re-structuring” and getting back into more normal routines. However, this time I found myself coming off of the “vacation” and getting into a season of more activity–also out of the ordinary. I was finishing up my latest book (finally!!) and it needed last edits and set-up for the printer. Both my husband and I needed to attend to that, which took our attention off of some of the “normal” doings of the home.
Then, in anticipation of offering “The Growing Homeschool” as both an ebook and a paperback, I had to add a new product page to our Web site, and I figured that at the same time I would change over our right hand navigation bar to a preferred design. Mind you, I am in no way an expert in Web design. I have to work my way through using Expressions and the limited knowledge of HTML that I’ve picked up through good old trial and error. So something like a navigation menu, which would be simple to someone else, is not easy for me. Needless to say, although I tried my best to balance this re-design with the usual home management, homeschooling, and so on…it was a little time-and-attention consuming.
Finally today (Web site updates incomplete though they are!), I decided to STOP and just focus on BEING AT HOME. I recall reading somewhere that if your children are exhibiting behavioral problems or if there are peer issues, etc., you as a mom may want to spend more time at home with your children–limiting extra-curricular activities, play groups, errands, outings, and so on. Spending time at home, doing “normal” things, and focusing on your family relationships and the ties that bind helps to restore hearts to the family and to those things that the family values.
And I realized that although we’ve all been “at home,” well, my heart has not been “at home.” I’ve been too distracted by incidental things and not investing enough in what I should be. Are the other things important? Yes! Do I need to do them? Yes! And maybe the timing was just bad, with everything coming together at once and it becoming a bit overwhelming for me. Maybe I was putting things on a timetable that was mine and not God’s (I think that is probably the most likely). Maybe there wasn’t anything I could do about it, I don’t know. But what I do know is that even though I’ve “been” here, I haven’t been actively involved enough in the day-to-day operation of the home, invested enough in the lives of my children, or focused enough on the things that are truly important.
Believe me, I didn’t really feel like blogging about this. It’s a little personal. But I know that God doesn’t want us all living in a vacuum. There is nothing new under the sun, no tempation that is not common to man. So as I write about what’s on my heart, maybe it will serve as a warning to someone else–to take care to keep your heart at home. To remind you that, no matter what else is going on around you, to still keep your focus on the Lord and remember what is most important to Him. And to say that even if you are in a season that seems particularly busy, don’t forget to slow down and appreciate your little ones, consistently disciple your children, spoil your husband, and ENJOY the life that God has given you.
I am thankful that this time of distraction and–ultimately–discouragement has been only a couple of weeks in its course. I’m also optimistic that we’re going to get back on the right track. Because suddenly I feel like my heart is at home again. As always, I remain thankful for God’s grace, and for His faithfulness.