comparison is a thief

Have you ever stopped to think about why you’re homeschooling? Do you have a mission statement for your homeschool? What are your reasons? What are your goals?

We all homeschool for different reasons. It’s a calling for sure, but the purpose and the goal may be different for each of us. Maybe you’re homeschooling because your child has special needs or fragile health. Maybe it’s because you want to challenge them in ways instutional school can’t. Perhaps it’s because of bullying or emotional issues. It might be because you want to give them a different type of education or because you like to travel.

There are all kinds of “whys” for homeschooling. None of them are wrong or bad, but they are different.

Likewise, every homeschool family has different goals. It could be to graduate your child early so he can get a jumpstart on college or career. Or maybe it’s to take school slowly so you can stop and smell the roses. Your goal could be to do dual enrollment or to introduce your children to alternative careers that don’t require college. It could be simply to give them the best footing for their future. Maybe your goal is to teach them all about God and the world He made so that they follow after Him.

The possible goals for your homeschool are numerous. And each one looks a little different.

If you haven’t thought about your why, it’s never too late. And if that question seems too big to tackle or if you’ve forgotten your reasons and your goals, it could very well be that you are using someone else’s.

Without question, we believe that comparison is the thief of joy. It’s probably the one thing we talk about with moms the most. It’s an easy trap to step into because we are immersed in it all day long whether it’s at co-op, on social media or talking with a friend.

It seems like we’re always measuring ourselves against whatever or whomever is currently in front of us.

The thing is that’s not your field to work. And your field is not hers to work. God gave you your own reasons, goals, kids, plans, and work to do. And He gave her her own. So don’t homeschool in a bubble and never expose yourself to other people or other ideas — I mean we wouldn’t want to be called unsocialized or anything — but remember to keep your eyes on your own work.

Remember Peter? He was so excited that Jesus called him out to walk on the water with Him that he jumped out of the boat and started walking toward Him. Then Peter realized what he was doing and he started looking around. And when His eyes left Jesus, he sank.

The same thing happens to us in our homeschools. When we start looking around at what everyone else is doing and how they are doing it, we take our eyes of our own work, off the purpose God gave us, and off God himself and we sink. We lose our why, we lose our joy, we lose focus.

This is an easy thing to do this time of year. We like to say that spring is the time of year when it’s more fun to plan next year than it is to finish this year. True, isn’t it? But, don’t get distracted by your friend’s why, or that mom at the co-op who seems to be killing it right now. And don’t get distracted by next year either. Just keep going, reminding yourself of your why and your goals.