Right after I got married, I worked as a counselor at a church camp for one summer session. It was a lot of fun, but there is one experience that I will never forget.
At the camp there is a rock that comes out about 10-15 feet above the water. We were taking our girls swimming that day, and the girls in my cabin really wanted me to jump off the rock. I am VERY afraid of heights. I kept telling them no, but eventually they talked me into at least climbing onto the rock.
Once I got up there, I realized that I was right. It was a really stupid idea. Now there was no way down except to jump. Those girls had tricked me! I spent pretty much all of our swimming time on top of that rock trying to convince myself to jump. When it was time to go back to camp, I knew I had to get off that rock. So I started thinking, what is the only thing in the world that would make me jump off of something this high voluntarily? The answer was my children. I didn't even have kids yet. I'd only been married a month. But I imagined that one of my children was drowning in the water below, and I had to get to them. It was a no-brainer. I got on the edge of that rock and jumped off.
I tell you this story to answer a question I get a lot. People ask me all the time why I homeschool or say something like, "I could never do that." And while I've never said it, I think, "Yes you could. If you had to, you would do anything for your child. Even something that scares you to death."
So why do I homeschool? Because I feel that it is something I have to do for my children and my family. It scares me, it's hard, some days I don't feel like it, most days I don't feel adequate, but I jump, every day, into the deep end. Because this is my calling and my profession, mother and teacher.
While you may not homeschool, I know that as a mom you jump into the deep end for you children. So I just want to encourage you to keep jumping. No one else may notice, but one day your kids will look back and recognize your sacrifice and your bravery in choosing to do the scary things for them.
Still not over my fear of heights (so why do I talk about treehouses!!!),
Chelli
Excellent post!! This is applicable in so many ways. As an adoptive mama, this also resonates with me. If someone held my child captive and said to bring them home it would cost thousands and thousands of dollars, what would I do?
ReplyDeleteOf course, I would do whatever it took to raise that ransom. That's just what parents do.