How I Fit It All In

I’m not going to close down my Facebook account.

I’ve been kicking it around.  In fact, I even did that two-week thing where you can shut it down–but not quite all the way–and then bring it back up within two weeks if you change your mind.

I almost made it the two weeks!

One thing keeps calling me back.  People.

“Well, duh,” you say, “that’s what Facebook is all about.”

It’s not that I’m afraid I’m going to lose connections or miss out on the gossip of the day. The part that’s eating at me when I try to quit is the way God has used it to allow me to minister to my Facebook friends.

At least once a month, often times much more than that, I get a message in my inbox or a note on my wall that goes something like this:

“Sarah!  HOW do you do it? I only have two kids and I’m trying to homeschool and I’m going crazy!  You have NINE! You have time to write and do crafts and your house is even clean. You must be REALLY patient!”

I get these messages so often that I’ve thought about writing up a series of blogs with all the responses I’ve given and then just directing the inquirer to the appropriate link.

I think my answers are generally the same answers that other women with a similar lifestyle would give. I haven’t got a ton of patience and I’m definitely not super mom. I’ve just figured out a few things that have made this large family homeschooling thing run a little bit  more smoothly than it used to.

I think the number one change I’ve made is to stop trying to be a people -pleaser.

Church ministry teams, homeschool leadership boards, thinly-disguised guilt trips from friends and family:  this problem used to manifest itself in so many different ways, but it always came down to me doing what others wanted me to do.  All the while, the things I was supposed to be doing were suffering.

Once I realized that I didn’t need to do all those outside activities to have a ministry, my life became so much more peaceful and productive. I became organized.  I developed a structure to our daily lives that included all the things I had always wanted to do with our homeschooling that I’d never had time for before.

The best step I took toward getting myself to the place where I felt good about our homeschool and our routine was setting up my boundaries.  The day I became a wife, my ministry was set out for me.  The day I became a mother, my ministry was added to.  I don’t need those outside ministries and they don’t need me.  I’m not the right person for the job right now because my plate is full here at home.

It blesses me to see the eyes of my Facebook friends being opened when I explain that simple truth to them.  It’s like they now have confirmation of all God put on their hearts.  A ministry at home as a spouse and a homeschooling parent is a wonderful blessing.  I would argue it’s the best blessing next to salvation!