Thoughts at the end of the school year...

Hannah's class had their end of the year concert (with all of the other kindergarten classes). They sang several songs and all looked so precious standing up on the stage! I have really enjoyed getting to know a lot of these children and their families this year. Hannah has been blessed to have such a good teacher. He really enjoys music (as does she) and incorporates it into all aspects of his teaching. She has matured and learned so much over the past school year.

I was reading a friend's blog on homeschooling the other day and thought I would chime in on the conversation. How we choose to educate our children is a hot topic in the Christian community. I believe that God has given us great freedom in this area. Ken and I looked into several options when deciding what to do with Hannah this year. We checked out a Christian school in our area, looked at our local neighborhood school, and also talked to several parents who homeschool. We prayerfully considered all of the options as well as Hannah's strengths, weaknesses, and personality. In the end, we felt that God was leading us to put her in the neighborhood school.

We made this choice for many reasons. We felt that the teachers and principal really cared about the students and strove to provide a safe and stimulating environment for them to learn and grow. We wanted Hannah to experience diversity among students at a very early age so that we could begin to have some deep conversations with her about loving people who are different from us. We wanted her to be in situations where she may not feel 100% comfortable, so that she could learn to lean on and trust in the Lord for herself. These all factored into our decision, but the main reason for putting Hannah in our local school was simply because we felt that God had given us a desire to love and invest in the community that He has placed us in. People in our community are intensely devoted to their children (almost to an unhealthy extent). We felt that we would lose a connection with our neighbors if we put our kids in a private school or chose to homeschool.

Loving our community has looked a lot different than I expected. I thought we would make friends easily and quickly. The first event we went to NO ONE even talked to us!!! We were at a picnic for about an hour before I chased down the only mom I had seen before. I came home feeling like a loser--and very discouraged about the task that God had given us. I prayed a lot over the next several weeks and really felt that this would be an area where I would have to sincerely trust in the Lord even for something as simple as a conversation!

We have made an extra effort to attend EVERYTHING at Hannah's school, as we are trying to forge friendships and relationships. I tried to volunteer in her room on a regular basis. We planned several play dates. We joined a girl scouts troupe from our area for some extra "face time". It has taken almost an entire year to feel connected to other moms. It has been tiring to continue to invest in relationships that are not as close or as natural as the ones that I have in my church. I have often felt a little odd and sometimes rejected as I have put myself out there! However, I can look back over the year and feel a deep satisfaction--I saw the Lord provide in some really hilarious ways to open doors and start up conversations that I know I couldn't have done on my own. People are a little harder to start relationships with here, but it is worth the work.

We are just beginning the journey of loving our community--getting to know people is the first step. I feel excited for the years to come. I know that I am doing what God has called us to do. I am being His ambassador to people who may not otherwise meet Him. I feel myself beginning to care for people that I would have never even met if we had chosen a different path. I never thought that getting outside of my comfort zone would be this rewarding. I am thankful, that even when I am uncomfortable, I am never alone. I am simply following in the footsteps of the One walking ahead of me.