Off To School

For the past few years we have been home schooling. It was something I never considered until it just happened. My daughter Ashley who has severe autism and is completely nonverbal was in a somewhat abusive classroom - they were withholding lunch as punishment, among other issues. We couldn't work things out with the school and I just didn't trust them with her, especially since she couldn't tell me what was happening. She was to the point of getting hysterical every time she saw the building, so we pulled her out of school. I used to teach 1st grade, so home schooling didn't seem like too big of a challenge. It turned out to be the perfect choice and was such an amazing blessing that we decided to home school all three of our children. It wasn't always easy but the last several years of home schooling have been very rewarding. It was nice to have those extra years of family bonding. And to be able to teach them not only the basics, but also things that I wanted them to know and to put a strong emphasis on God and his role in their life. I am so glad God led us in that direction. But as the Bible tells us, there is a season for all things. Recently we started to realize maybe it was time to return to public school. Ashley just seemed to be getting bored at home. I couldn't fill her time and take care of all my other responsibilities. So we started praying and I contacted the school for information. Everybody that was involved in the situation a few years ago was gone. There is a wonderful new teacher in the Autism classroom. All of the people whom I have had contact with have been understanding, kind, and knowledgeable. It was agreed to let Ashley start slowly and build up to a full school day. A couple of weeks ago she started going 1 hour a day, 3 days a week. This week she has gone every day for 3 hours a day. She is loving it! She has a wonderful para with her all the time and an excellent staff around her that is excited to work with her. After we looked into Ashley returning to school, we decided to let Hailey and Josh go back also. Although home schooling has worked very well for my daughters, my son has not thrived in this environment. He really needs that full, structured day. And if Ashley and Josh both returned to school, we thought Hailey would be lonely at home by herself. They just started this week. So far they are very excited and loving every moment of school. They both have excellent teachers, who are really working with their special needs. I can definitely see God's hand at work through this whole process. He guided a path to home schooling for a time, and then guided us back to public school at the right time. It is so hard to stay on the same page as God at times. When we pulled Ashley out of school, I thought she would be home with me always. Then recently we started asking ourselves - What do we want for her future? If we want her to be living with us always- this is fine. But if we ever want her to be independent of us - we need to start working in that direction. The adjustment has been easier than we all anticipated. I am finally able to get some much needed rest and caught up with things at home and on the website. At the end of the day I am so excited to see my children. The lesson that I learned through all of this is: sometimes God calls you to do something for a time, but that doesn't mean he wants you to do it forever. I need to be careful to contine to walk with God and remain open to changes he wants to make in my life. When you remove yourself from the will of God, things that were at one point a blessing can very suddenly become a nightmare or vice versa when you walk into God's will. I wouldn't trade those years of home schooling for anything, but I look forward to this new season God is providing me.