As I as perusing craft blogs this evening, I came across this quote and it might just be my new favorite.
"Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.
It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
No matter what life throws at us, I need to realize that things could always be worse. I know God won't give me more than I can handle, although sometimes it feels like He does. I have been struggling lately with feeling like an outsider, given the choices I make in my life for myself and my family. I realize that the way I do some things isn't the "norm". Who decides what's normal anyway? What's important is that we are confident in the choices and decisions we make for our family and not to measure eachother up against one another. Unfortunately, as confident as I am in our decisions, right or wrong, I am still very much affected by other people's comments, hearing them straight from the horses mouth and through the grapevine. I don't understand why there seems to be a double standard. Who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong? A lot of these feelings stem from our choice to homeschool Ethan this year but there is a whole slew of other issues surrounding this topic that have bothered me for quite some time. How did we become so uber judgemental? In closing, I wanted to quote a song I have listened to quite frequently lately as it pretty much sums up how I've been feeling.
"All my life I’ve tried to make everybody happy,
While I just hurt and hide,
Waiting for someone to tell me it’s my turn to decide."
I'm not supermom. I'm not perfect. I have, as Chrystal calls them, "mommy meltdowns". My house is not always as clean as I would like it to be. I complain about being tired even though I choose to work night shift. We are apparently going to have unsocialized children, not exposed to the "real word" apparently public school would expose them too. We don't let our kids say "hate, butt, stupid or what the" and they will call you out on it if they hear you say it (we're working on not telling other people what to do LOL), we don't keep candy, cookies, chips or pop in the house unless there is a special event (yup, I am one of "those" moms). But this is me, these are the decisions my husband and I have made, this is who I am and I AM PROUD OF IT!
6 comments:
I just LOVE you Court! I'm SO sorry to hear that you're catching all this flack around your choices, but I just don't understand.
Do people not realize it's HARDER to stand up for what you believe in than to just 'go with the flow'?
Are they overlooking the fact that Bryce is in "normal" school? Wouldn't that go to show that homeschooling is not a DEMAND of all your children, but simply deciding on a child-to-child basis?
I wish that I could be more like you... keep up the good work :)
P.S. For Halloween, I think you should be yourself... WONDER WOMAN!
Dearest Courtney,
I'm so sad we couldn't get together this week...it sounds like you have a very heavy heart today. In my life, I've found that insecure people always criticize others!!! They are not confident in their choices, and when they see someone making a choice for their family they begin to question what they are doing as well.
Where did we get the idea that everyone has to be the same? It certainly wasn't from the Lord or His Word!!! Jesus made us all unique...and we should respect the opinions of others without being ruled by them. If we let criticism steal our joy or individuality, it robs us of our creativity and keeps us from fulfilling the job the LORD has given us.
Just remember that insecure people will always criticize others...especially if your choices differ from theirs. I believe that that is the case because they are uncomfortable with things that don't conform to their way of thinking. Secure people can handle being the only one doing something. They can allow others the liberty to be different and to make their own choices. That's because they themselves are secure in who God has called them to be.
I read this scripture verse today, and it might encourage your heart. "So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT)
I'll pray that you and your family have a great month of living enthusiastically for the Lord...and that you will have confidence that NOTHING you're doing is useless or worthy of criticism.
Some wise women have posted before me! I just wanted to add that as I said in response to your comment on my blog that I really think of you as wonder woman. I love hearing all the things that you are doing with your family and can truly see your heart in all of it. Be proud that you are one of "those" moms and realize that those who are criticizing are most likely doing so because they are feeling insecure about their own decisions.
I will be praying for you and that God continues to give you peace about the decisions you have made. I will pray for those who are putting you down, that their hearts may be softened and that they would examine their own lives instead of putting yours under a microscope.
You are AMAZING...don't let anyone convince you that you are anything less.
You should ALWAYS do what you feel is best for your children and don't let people tell you otherwise! Everyone is different in the ways they choose to raise their children! If everyone chose to be the same, this world would be a boring place. Bottom line, if your children feel loved, that's all that really matters!
Keep up the good work, Court! Everyone who commented before me put exactly what I was thinking as I read your post into words (well, much better words than I would have written, but you get the point). ;)
I honestly look up to you and when I think about "those" moms/wives that I wish I was more like, you are on the top of my list. You seem to be super mom in my eyes! So keep it up and try not to worry about what others think... although that's always easier said than done. Take care! Look forward to seeing you soon!
You do you. In simplest terms (and a little ghetto I might add....) You do you... You know whats best for your family and you are doing it.
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