Health Limitations: Homeschooling Me- Learning to be Flexible (part 7 in a series)
Originally published in 2014
More than once during this journey, we have been faced with extended periods of health limitations. For both our 3rd and 4th sons, I was confined to bed during the last half of each pregnancy, I dealt with depression, and I suffered from horrible migraine headaches. It was hard for me to accept help from others during times like that, much less even ask for help. Thankfully, people helped anyway, and I learned some much-needed humility in the process. During these times, we did a lot of read-alouds, watched a ton of educational and literature-related videos, and we played lots of educational games, all from my semi-permanent position on the couch or bed.
Looking back, I can see so many ways that God used these times in our family. I learned not to be so pridefully independent and stubborn. My boys learned some important life and home-related skills out of necessity...something their wives now thank us for! I learned to lean on God’s sovereignty and providence more than ever before. I learned to lean on my husband’s leadership in ways I never would have otherwise. My boys saw the spirit of a servant demonstrated by friends who helped and by a husband who showed unconditional love in a trying set of circumstances. It wasn’t always me that experienced the health challenges. John was confined to bed for a period of time as well. He collapsed with bleeding ulcers and, due to the loss of blood, was unable to work for a period of time. Once again, it was a great opportunity to pull together as a family. For the boys, it was time to begin learning what it meant to do the jobs of a man around the house. They learned how a family can form a team and get things done by working together. They learned to serve each other too, since they now had two younger brothers that we needed to help with various things each day. School was done at odd hours, and content and emphasis were readjusted during that time to take advantage of the teachable moments that were occurring due to our circumstances.
Just in the past couple of years, we experienced a serious illness of a child. Our third son was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, and with that diagnosis came an adjustment of diet, schedule, and for a time, school expectations. This allowed time for the entire family to adjust to the challenge we were facing, while we traveled to various doctors both in and out of state. It was a very taxing time both physically and emotionally, but with a flexible approach and the beauty of homeschooling, goals were still met, just in a much different way than we had envisioned. Again, it was the beauty of having a clear picture of our desired end result that allowed us to flex without breaking, to adapt to the situation, and still continue to move forward towards the goal.
Facing health limitations can be trying when surrounded by the constant needs of your family and your responsibilities as a wife and mother. I know, and I understand. I can still feel that heaviness when I look back at those times in our family's life. However, I can also see in the lives of my grown sons, that having walked through those times with us has given them a spirit of patience, grace, and unconditional love for their spouses and children. They know the importance of a family working together as a team. They saw our weaknesses and our desire to lean on God's sovereignty during those difficult times. While we may have fallen behind in housework, school work, and other areas that seemed so pressing at the time, in the end, the lessons they learned, that we all learned together were priceless.
