A Day of Recovery

 After a week of high temps and dry weather, we awoke this morning to misty grey skies and refreshing rain.

The land is drinking it in.

Similarly, after two weeks of half our family traveling to the other side of the world, we awoke this morning to suitcases and laundry piled high and their refreshing presence again.

I am drinking it in!

Today is a day of recovery.

They made it home safe and well, but in need of proper beds, hot showers, and to be embraced with a sense of home sweet home.

I am enjoying their hilarious retellings of adventure and peril in between laundry loads, as well as listening to them proudly rattle off the few phrases they learned in Swahili. 

I especially appreciated this comment by Roman... After a period of reflection he remarked, "I never knew how lucky we are in America."

Micah, determined to make world travelers out of our kids, took Roman and Nola to Tanzania, Africa, to hike Mount Kilimanjaro and partake in an African safari.

It was a great experience for them!

Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest point. 

Camping in tents on the mountain as they went, it was five full days of hiking to the summit. Plunging temps and altitude sickness were endured, but they assure me it's worth it. They were over comers, literally walking among the clouds.

The safari looked equally amazing... Roman's photos caused me to blurt out, "You could be a photographer for National Geographic magazine!"

I was so thankful for modern technology, as we were able to text and FaceTime regularly. So I always knew where they were and that they were ok. 

That provided huge relief for this mama's heart!

The only time I became nervous was when I learned they had an eight-hour layover through the night and into Sunday morning at Doha's airport in Qatar; a country in Africa I had never heard of and questioned if that was safe.

Of course, I would have greatly preferred them tucked into a hotel behind a locked door to the thought of my children sleeping out in the open in a foreign airport. But Sunday morning came without me hearing anything from them, and I had responsibilities to tend to at church. I remembered something I read in a novel last winter that stuck with me... "It is difficult to take an exaggerated view of any personal upheaval when standing in a building that has witnessed the joys, the hopes, the griefs and all the spiritual tremors of mortal men for centuries. In the presence of this ancient, silent witness, it was right that personal cares should assume their own insignificant proportions."

I pushed thoughts of disaster out of my mind and went to church. 

Once I learned they had safely landed in Boston, and were back on American soil, I indulged in a Google search of Doha, Qatar.

To my surprise, Qatar is one of the most high-tech and safest places in the Middle East. Although it is not quite popular yet, it's a great place for tourists. Dubbed Dazzling Doha on the web, this beautifully modern, capital city is situated right on the sparkling waters of the Gulf Coast. And! according to the UN, ranks second in the world in terms of safety. 

Whew! Not only was I put at ease, but now I want Micah to take me to Doha for our next vacation! Haha

Soren and Elsa and I held down the fort at home while the others were away.

We missed them terribly, of course, but did just fine entertaining ourselves with little days trips here and there.

We are fortunate to have a nice beach within 30 minutes of our home.

The key to staying content while loved ones are away is to keep yourself occupied.

While my children swam and played, I read and people-watched. 

This couple intrigued me... 

I was touched to watch this man meticulously clean off his wife's feet as she patiently sat...

He brushed away all the sand, then carefully put her socks and shoes back on her.

It's moving to witness such sweet scenes.

When we weren't out and about, we were enjoying our home...

The kids and I tackled some long overdue organizing projects, which felt quite satisfying to complete.

I've also been getting my mind ready for the next school year.

I will have one still in elementary, but two in middle school and one starting high school.

It's a different ball game when homeschooling older kids.

I long for the time when we played with colorful blocks on the living room floor, read Little Golden books snuggled on the couch, blew bubbles out in the sunny afternoon, then had nap time... that was our homeschool day.

Ahh... bliss!

Now, I am correcting Algebra papers, reminding my older ones to remember the order of operations, and to isolate the variable.

The truth is, more families homeschool in the younger years than the older years, so it's hard to find the same support and resources for homeschooling high school.

When my children were younger and people would ask me why on earth I chose to homeschool, I would simply reply, "I have the desire to do it, and I feel as though the Lord has honored that."

Well, as my kids advance, that desire is still strong within me, so I continue to ask the Lord's favor on our family.

The other day I read 2 Corinthians 8:11 and it struck me...

"Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means."

I never felt "called" to homeschool. I never had a special revelation... I just continue to have a willingness to do it year after year.

Roman only has four more very important, formative years left. And as we enter high school, a point at which a lot of homeschool families send their kids to school, this verse confirms for me and encourages me to press on... to finish the work. 

"According to your means" is a comforting reminder that I am equipped and have all I need for a successful homeschool.

"... in all things at all times, having all that you need..." (2 Cor. 9:8)

*at all times - even high school.

What a comfort and a relief!

I look forward to entering our high school years with confidence!

"Being confident in this, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."

Philippians 1:6

~ Courtney