Planning with an Open Hand (it’s about humility)
We think and choose carefully and set out for a new school year with typical September zeal. And then: those plans will go awry.
There is no foolproof way to homeschool, and though we may try to delude ourselves into thinking otherwise, we aren’t in control. (Thank goodness!)
I have a tendency to live in my ideals.
I picture our ideal day, week, or term, and then I feel chronically disappointed because it never becomes my reality.
I’m tight-fisted. I cling ruthlessly to my own vision and fail to recognize that the beauty is in the muddle.
What it really boils down to is a lack of humility and a failure to see that God is glorified even when the day looks nothing like it did when I mapped it out on paper.
I’m so intent on having things go my way that I don’t leave room for Him to turn the whole thing on its head and do with it what He wills.
How do we open our fist? How do we teach from rest, willing to receive anything He hands us?
I love what Jennifer says in Something Other Than God:
“The secret to being humble is to be so focused on how you can make other people’s lives better that you don’t care who’s right or wrong.”
In our case, one might say the key to being humble is to be so focused on pleasing God that we don’t care how closely our actual day aligns with our ideals.
He takes enormous pleasure in bringing order from chaos- from taking our measly efforts and spinning them into something beautiful for His delight.
To that end, we are responsible to hand Him our loaves and fishes. We hand Him that basket and open our hands. He is responsible for the miracle. He never asked us to feed the 5,000- He just asked us to come with what we have and believe that He would do the feeding.
Diligence matters. Faithfulness over little things matters too.
But the outcome? That is not ours to dictate, though we fall into the trap now and again of thinking otherwise.
“Humbly let go. Let go of trying to do, let go of trying to control, let go of my own way, let go of my own fears. Let God blow His wind, His trials, oxygen for joy’s fire. Leave the hand open and be. Be at peace. Bend the knee and be small and let God give what God chooses to give because He only gives love and whisper a surprised thanks. This is the fuel for joy’s flame. Fullness of joy is discovered only in the emptying of will.” –Ann Voskamp
We would do well as homeschooling mothers to make “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” a motto we lived by day by day, moment by moment, math meltdown by math meltdown.
When we bring our best, let go of control, and refuse to assess our success by how closely our reality matches our initial vision, we homeschool from humility.
We don’t care if we are right or wrong or whether our egos are stroked by the brilliance of our teaching- we are focused on how we can serve God alone by serving our families.
It isn’t that our hands are empty- that we hope God will take over because we have nothing to bring, nothing to give, nothing to offer Him.
We offer Him all that we are, all that we hope- every history lesson and Latin declension and spelling word– and we let Him do with it what He will.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. In our homeschools, every day, all over the world.
Read the whole three-part series: Planning with the Schole Sisters
I am thoroughly enjoying your blog. I finished reading Teaching From Rest while on vacation and then tackled Tell Your Time when we returned home. I am setting myself up for a more restful school year this year and in the future. Keep encouraging us!!
I wonder how many times I will need to back and read this before it completely sinks in and affects my day. Good thing I bookmarked this page! So thankful for the insights shared here as well as the wonderful e-book Teaching from a State of Rest.
My greatest struggle so far is deciding which curriculum to use.
I just heard a great talk about this same subject today at a homeschool mom’s enrichment day. So true, but so hard to live on a day to day basis. I am constantly having to remind myself of this!
I most want to fight my tendency to want to make sure I get it done. I want to teach, listen and learn with open ears and heart.
So many great tips. The Lord led me to your website through your RAR podcast with Andrew Pudewa while I was trying to stay awake during severe (tornado threat) weather. I have been so blessed by your blog posts and Teaching from Rest. I am looking forward to homeschooling differently this year because of your willingness to share! Thank you, Sarah.
And to answer the question, my biggest struggle is trying to plan too much! Then getting stressed out that we can’t get it all done.
My biggest struggle is knowing where to start. I have tons of great materials…but now what??
Thank you! Excellent post. I need more humility in my life and home. Such perfect timing.
My biggest challenge when planning is discouragement from all my past planning failures. I love to plan! It is the follow through that I struggle with. I have failed so many times that it makes me not want to plan at all. These posts have been encouraging though and I sat down and did a rough draft yesterday. I think I need to follow the advice from this post and now give it over to God.
Making it all fit without letting us feel busy.
Beautiful and true. Thank you for the reminder.
Oh my word, I love this post! I need to print it out and read it every morning…Thank you!!!
The biggest challenge I have with planning for the coming year is narrowing focus. It’s so hard to look at the glossy curricula mags and not want to do ALL.THE.THINGS!
I am starting my 3rd year of homeschooling after my children were in Catholic school for 6 years and my biggest struggle each year is realizing I cannot and do not have to replicate what brick and mortar schools do, but need to be content with how we do things and recognize the blessing of being able to teach my children, (sometimes easier said than done). Thank you for helping me strive for that peace.
Definitely my biggest struggle is trying to do too much. So many good books, so little time!
I cannot say ‘Amen’ loudly enough! Amen! Amen! Amen! I would like to paint this prayer on my kitchen wall:
“Lord, give me the grace to let go of my own concerns and be open to what you are asking of me, to let myself be guided and formed by my loving Creator” (author unknown)
This is so thoughtful and wise. Thank you, Sarah! Teaching from Rest has had me in a bit of a tailspin (ironically) because I realize how tightly I cling to the outcome, the need for success. Letting go has not been easy, but I love how you express teaching humbly, with our hearts set on God. Although we are expressing all this in the context of homeschooling, it is really our hearts and lives that being renewed and restored. Thank you for speaking the truth of Peace boldly to our weary souls!
I would love to win that planner! My biggest struggle with planning a new homeschool year is keeping it all organized. It’s hard for me to get it out on paper.
Math meltdown after math meltdown… Isn’t it crazy how we all seem to have experienced those?!? (sigh) Love the reminder to let God take over. Here’s a big thank-you from a HUGE planner. ;)
WOW….”just offer it”. I forget that so many times a day. Just offer it and do not worry about the outcome. lovely, Thank you!
I love the Plan Your Year free printables! This is my 4th year homeschooling and my first year trying to focus on teaching from a state of rest. I am hopeful to avoid frustrations and burn out!
A very nice prayer for homeschoolers!
I like the phrase “planning with an open hand.” Thanks for a great post!
Ah, such good reminders. Especially when you have toddlers or a reluctant learner around :) Nothing is gained when I lose my peace or trust in His will as tempting as it might be in the moment!