Just what I needed to hear

-

This morning was probably one of the top 5 worst mornings I’ve had out here. It was horrible and it ended with me crying in the shower, wishing our business would fail so we could just go home. Today was also day 3 of home schooling, which may or may not have added to my feelings of despair. I really do not think I am cut out for teaching my own children. I have many friends that home school by choice! That has always amazed me. Since Tyson first started 3 school, I have been one of those moms who looked forward to the start of the school year with great anticipation. No tears for this mama! I love my children, but I love having a break from them as well. And you know what, I am pretty sure they feel the same way about me. We just all get along better when we’ve had some space. The whole “absence makes the heart grow fonder” idea.
Now, we are in South Africa, and at least until January, if not longer, I am in charge of my children’s education. The reasons for this are many, but I know that for now this is how it has to be. Sadly, when you are having a bad day and feeling emotional and run down, thoughts like this have a way of pushing you over the edge, which is how I ended up crying in the shower. My thoughts were going crazy. I was freaking out about home schooling, hoping for the demise of our business, feeling like I was never going to make friends, and on and on and on. It was only after I had gotten myself to the point of feeling overwhelmed and totally alone that I finally decided to spend a little time with God. I opened up my Jesus Calling and read the following:

Relax in My healing, holy presence. Allow Me to transform you through this time alone with Me. As your thoughts center more and more on Me, trust displaces fear and worry. Your mind is somewhat like a seesaw. As your trust in Me goes up, fear and worry automatically go down. Time spent with Me not only increases your trust; it also helps you discern what is important and what is not.

One of the verses that went with this reading was Ephesians 5:15-16, which says, “Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY, because the days are evil. “ 

The note in my NIV Bible says “The foolish person has no strategy for life and misses opportunities to live for God in an evil environment.” Now, I am not trying to say that our little schoolroom is an “evil environment”, but yesterday it was pretty ugly. For me, these words and this verse were just what I needed to hear.  A reminder to not only trust more and worry less, but also to be aware that this time I have to spend with my kids is an opportunity to live for God and that I need to be making the most of it.

Comments

Sarah said…
Wow! I love seeing the movement of the Spirit.

Praying for patience for you and the kids as you adjust to this homeschooling thing. I hope we'll be seeing you sometime soon...we haven't heard anything new. I'm trying to embrace this time right now too though it's not always easy.

You are an amazing woman, Jonna. Even when you don't feel that amazing. I'm sending across-the-ocean hugs to you.
August 11, 2011 at 11:25 AM
pjvs50@gmail.com said…
Yep Jonna Jesus will keep right on calling-to me too. Which fruit of the Spirit do you most want to cultivate-work on only one-not two-only one at a time. I could use a little more joy so here I go. Let go and truly let God-wish I could learn that. Now I see Sarah writes about patience-mostly with yourself-good grief I remember my first year of teaching-a pure greenhorn but they learned something. So do only an hour and a half a day for a while so it is not burdensome and then read or tell stories or take a nature walk-your dad said trips are the best education. You can do math while walking. Enjoy the sky and the grass and the bugs. This should have been an e-mail but I was so glad to see a blog. Go easy on yourself and feel free to cry. Good for washing the soul. Love ya to Mars Mom and praying for our little Sarah.
August 11, 2011 at 9:59 PM
retha said…
Trust you feel better by now.

Compared to learning from each other school is non-essential.
August 11, 2011 at 10:22 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connection and Community

-
Image
When we had made the decision to uproot our lives in the US and move to South Africa, I was so hungry for information about what living in South Africa would look like. We had been to South Africa several times as a couple, Darin had come on work trips, and we had spent 10 weeks here with our children. We knew some people, had been into various shops, and had a familiarity with the sounds of English being spoken with a variety of accents. However, there is a big difference between leaving home to visit a place for a few weeks or months and entirely uprooting your life in one place to start over in another. What were the schools like, would I have access to familiar ingredients to cook with, what about healthcare?  I scoured the internet to find stories about living in South Africa and found a few women who were more than happy to answer my questions, however random and weird they were. There was Annie, an American living in Pretoria, whose entire blog I read in one day and when Darin c
Read more

Family Fun Friday

-
Image
We have almost reached the end of the winter holiday. Tyson and Jori go back to school on Wednesday. We have some fun activities planned for the next few days, but we will also be cleaning bedrooms and setting out uniforms and lunch boxes. Let the school fun begin! Overall, it has been a fun holiday. Tyson and Jori have both had school friends over to play, we've made it to church twice, we've been out for pizza, had donuts, did some baking, and more. Friday, however, was probably the highlight of the school holidays for us. The day started with Jori losing her first tooth! Our baby girl is growing up. We had a few errands to run and took the kids with us. While Darin was busy at Cashbuild ordering supplies for an upcoming building project at TYB, Tyson, Jori and I went to Pick N Pay and King Pie for a little treat. We shared with Darin, of course. We spent a few hours at home, then headed out at 3 for our big adventure. We drove slowly and took a mini game drive on
Read more

More thoughts on motivation

-
When I look back at the decision making process that Darin and I went through, the process which has now brought us so close to a departure date, I have little doubt that Darin felt a call and responded to this call. Yet, when I go back over the different thought processes I went through to get us to this point, I realize that it has been all about me, which might explain why I am now suffering from some "buyer's remorse". It's not that my motivations for moving were necessarily wrong in themselves-I hope that Darin and I will be closer as a couple, I hope that our family will be closer and will do more together, I hope that Tyson will thrive in this new environment, I hope that our family will be able to reach out and help those that we come into contact with, I hope that Darin will be home more often and able to be a bigger part of our family life. Yet as we get closer, these hopes seem to be such small reasons to go. It's not like moving to a new country is goi
Read more