Soul Whispers of the In-Between
/There are so many adjectives to describe homeschooling.
So many answers to the question, “How is homeschooling going?”
As it stands in this house, my student got extra work this morning thanks to a poor attitude then she went above-and-beyond on her bird’s nest craft.
What are ya gonna do? Praise her for the bird craft for sure. Anything beyond that… the jury is still out.
Homeschooling is about 4.5 months old in our house and it still feels so new. Always monitoring and adjusting our needs, our resources, our requirements, our everything. We start by 9:30 and wrap up around 2. We don’t rush, we do some together & she does some solo. It’s purposeful and it’s here-and-there. It’s organized and it’s a mess. It’s black and white and gray and purple.
The thing is… why does this surprise me? In living a full, dive-right-in kind of life, the contrast of these experiences shouldn’t surprise me. But I know I can get stuck in thinking that our experiences have to be either/or, but there’s a reason the phrases “yes and…” & “yes and amen” have gained huge momentum: because we’re tired of being told we should be this or that when the human experience, the soul experience, is anything but this or that.
Today, as your soul whispers But I don’t want this or that, I want something in between… listen to it.
If one end is joy & the other is grief, pull both together; invite them both over for dinner and see how your soul rests in both.
If one end is structure and the other is creative freedom, invite both in; lean in to both and see where they can meet and merge.
If one end is safety and the other is a tightrope walk, find discernment in the direction; pray, listen to the silence in between, and don’t be afraid to wait—a four letter word, I know, but a key ingredient to walking any kind of balance.
Your heart falls somewhere in the middle but the outside world is yelling for you to choose this or that. Rest in the fact that God is not a this or that God; He is a heavenly Father full of nuance, full of love and grace and truth and justice and rightness and kindness. He is the creator of the universe and the curator of your heart. He is the OG of the Imago Dei. He gave you his son as a savior as his spirit as a friend. If nothing else, rest in that today while every other this or that takes a backseat to the peace and comfort offered when we rest our truest selves in His presence.
Join me on Mondays
in your inbox & earbuds
Always short & sweet.
Always a way for me to say:
The daily grind is tough &
praiseworthy at the same time.