Enjoy this guest post about nurturing a peaceful homeschool!
I live in Tuscany, Italy, in a house atop a hill overlooking a vineyard. Presently, the grapevines are full of lush green leaves and tiny buds that will eventually grow into heavy, juicy grapes this fall. And so I can't help but think it is all rather fitting that I write to you about this topic of abiding.
Why, you ask?
Let's go back two thousand years ago to a city surrounded by vineyards called Jerusalem to find out. Jesus shares his last words with the disciples hours before his inevitable arrest.
"Abide in Me...I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5)
These were the very words murmured into my heart months before my family, and I were led by the Lord to suddenly leave our lives in New York City behind and move to Tuscany.
Of all the places He chose to plant us, God chose Chianti, the famed wine-making region of Italy overflowing with vineyards. Surely this was no coincidence!
We found ourselves in a land with no other homeschoolers, no friends or family, and most of all, no (English language) library! "What on earth were we doing here?" I wondered continuously.
Yet the Lord's response was always the same—"Abide in me."
Our calendar was now bare without the distractions of homeschool meet-ups, coops, and extracurricular activities that once dizzied our lives back in New York City.
Having more time on our hands felt uncomfortable at first, and I feared I was disappointing my girls. I expected the imaginary homeschool police to show up and give me a fine for not doing enough! When I reached out to the Lord in prayer, yet again, I heard the Lord say, "Abide in me."
What did it mean to "abide"? Abide, the word meno in Greek, means to reside, live, or dwell.
Meno means "to take up permanent residence" or "to make yourself at home." How ironic! In a place that felt the least bit like home, Jesus was calling me to make my home in Him. So, instead of desperately trying to recreate the busy homeschool life we once had, I prayed and asked Jesus what He wanted our homeschool to look like.
.
In time, I replaced militantly trying to get through curriculum books and checking off to-do lists with singing daily praises and reading the Bible with my family. I read aloud books on the lives of missionary Christians and saints like the Schaeffers, St. Francis of Assisi, and Gladys Aylward,and our resilience as a family flourished.
Read Habits for a Sacred Home for more encouraging stories from history
In the stillness of the countryside, my children and I studied the changes of the seasons with awe and wonder of our Creator like we never have before.
We ceremoniously prepared meals, exploring the array of produce each season provided at local weekly markets.
My children became experts in hanging clothes (no clothes dryers in Italy!) and joyfully embraced their hard work. Eventually, I even began leading a Bible Study, which later led to hosting a retreat for women eager to learn about Jesus.
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Mamma mia, my home was starting to bear fruit! The more I chose to lean into Christ and connect to Him, the more the sap of His goodness flowed through me to bear this sweet harvest.
As homeschooling families in this modern age, we are met with an overabundance of curriculum options, educational activities, and teaching methodologies.
Unlike the pioneer homeschool families from decades ago, we live in a highly performance-driven world that uses social media to showcase all the new, extraordinary things homeschoolers do.
Consequently, we feel so much pressure to keep up and perform. When Jesus says, "He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit" (John 15:5), is He referring to this kind of fruit? If we become too occupied with trying to have the Instagram-worthy homeschool life, we face the danger of serving the homeschool master, not our Lord. Inevitably, we risk being the proverbial branch that is not abiding in the vine.
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Jesus knows precisely what our homeschooling families need each season, just like a gardener knows what is necessary for his grapevine to bear fruit.
All He calls us to do is to find respite in Him.
As we decompress from the school year, or plan the next one, I hope we can all escape from our demanding schedules and fearlessly take some time to connect to the True Vine, our Lord.
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