How to Handle Worry in Homeschooling
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We’re 10 weeks into our series of praying for our homeschools – I’m so thankful you are joining me! You can learn more about the series here. We’ll pray about a new area of our homeschool journey each week and dig into God’s Word with daily devotional reflections. Find this week’s free printable at the end of this post.
One of the first things that I did when my husband and I made the decision to homeschool was…worry.
I worried about socialization (yep, I was one of those stereotypes). I worried about what I would teach them and how we would fill our days. And even once I settled on some curriculum, I worried if I was doing it right, and if I was teaching them enough.
I can still very easily fall into the worry trap, even though I’ve got a few years of homeschooling under my belt. As moms, I don’t think that we will ever be completely immune to it; but thankfully I have learned a few things that help keep my worrying under control.
My daughters have developed this strange fear of going up to the second story of our home by themselves. They are worried about something that they have imagined up, and are fearful of being alone.
As their mom, I know, of course, that there is nothing on the second story of our home that they should be afraid of. I can see the big picture; I know without a doubt the ins and outs of our home, the truth about what is real and imaginary, and I try my hardest to reassure them that there is nothing to worry about.
If they would just learn to release those worries and trust that I have their best interests at heart always, everything would be ok (and they would be able to live in much more peace!).
God Sees the Big Picture
I thought about this today as I contemplated worrying. I don’t want my kids to worry, and I often try to ease their worries because I care about them. I also often see the big picture (like in the example above) and want my kids to come to me when they are worried so I can offer comfort, peace, and motherly wisdom.
How much more so is this true for us and our worries? If we care so much about our own kids to want to take their burdens, imagine how our Heavenly Father wants to do the same for us. Imagine how He must feel when we hold onto our worries and don’t go to Him for comfort and strength.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
God cares about the details in our homeschool – the small and big, and everything we worry about! We are worth so much to our loving Father (Matthew 10:29-31) – how would truly believing this change our lives and our homeschooling?
He Cares for Us
1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all of our anxiety upon Him, because He cares for us. To me, this is saying go to Him with all of our worries.
Not just the big, life-altering ones. Not just when we’re finally at the end of our rope.
But it’s trusting God with each of our worries, everything we need or are anxious about. This includes day-to-day things, and it includes even something like worrying about how our kids are ever going to learn algebra. When we cast our anxieties upon Him, we are acknowledging that He is God and we are not. We are showing our faith in the truth that He can handle our worries better than we can.
Remember that just like we often see the big picture when our kids come to us with worries, God sees even more and promises to work everything for our good (Romans 8:28).
He Will Sustain Us
Homeschooling is hard (I don’t think anyone would disagree!). Honestly, life in general is hard sometimes. And when things get hard, it’s so easy to fall to the comfort of worrying.
But we all know that worry does nothing except trap us! God did not design us to live in a state of worry. In fact, when we cast our cares upon Him and learn to let go of our worries, He can truly begin to work in our lives.
Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”
He will sustain us. This means that when we go to Him with our cares, He will bring us peace through the Holy Spirit, which strengthens us! No matter how big our worries are, He promises to support us, and not let us fall.
4 Practical Steps
When we cast our cares on the Lord, that doesn’t mean that we will worry less. Or never worry again. Or that we shouldn’t be concerned about certain things.
But it does mean that we don’t have to sit with our worry and handle it all on our own, and that we can actually have an action plan for when we are hit with anxiety and worry.
Here are 3 practical steps you can take to build the habit of casting your cares upon the Lord:
Step 1: Meditate on God’s Word and hide it in your heart.
The first and most important step is to read and study God’s Word. God has given us all of the tools we need to subdue our worrying, and those tools are found within the pages of the Bible and in our personal relationship with our Heavenly Father.
But we can’t access those tools if we don’t draw near to Him daily. We need to know what His promises are and how they apply to us.
Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
When we find promises and truths from the Bible that we can think upon when we begin to worry…we have less room for the worry.
Step 2: Release your worry (give it God).
When recognize yourself caught in a trap of worry or anxiety, pray about it – God wants us to come to Him, just as we would want our children to come to us if they were worried about something!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes we feel like we are so alone in our worries, and we truly forget that God is always with us. And we can speak personally with Him! What a blessing that we so often take for granted.
(This does not mean that everything will be perfect because you pray, or that you will never worry again. But prayer should be one of our first stages of attack.)
God already knows all we are going through; He created us for that relationship with Him and has promised to sustain us. So go to Him in prayer, and release those worries to Him.
Step 3: TRUST that God is in control.
Often we may be tempted to fall back into the habit of worry, even though we know that worrying does nothing.
Once we have released those worries to God, we then have to trust that He has infinite wisdom and control over the situations in our lives – more so than we like to think we have.
When we don’t trust, it’s like we are saying we know better than God. But He can handle our worry; He can handle everything we encounter in our lives.
Worry is talking to ourselves about things we can’t control. Prayer is talking to God about things He can control.
Worries about our homeschooling? About our kids, home, or whatever else? We don’t have to carry them.
We will never be able to take care of our problems better than God can, or without His help and loving care.
If we can learn to let go and allow Him to help us, God promises to sustain us. Our best homeschooling journey is not to be laden with worry and anxiety, but in reliance on our sovereign, faithful Father to meet all of our needs. He sees the big picture, and we can trust Him with our worries – today and always.
Heavenly Father,
Nothing is too difficult for you! I come to you humbly today, knowing that you are faithful and the only true source of my peace. You see the big picture of my life, and I confess that I easily forget this.
I worry, and try to take care of things on my own instead of resting in the promise that you are working everything for my good. For every situation I worry about, though, you alone have all the wisdom and strength I need.
I desire to take every thought captive and cast my cares upon you with confidence. Help me be willing to let things go, and reveal to me the worries I am failing to trust you with. Replace all of my worry with comfort and rest in your loving arms.
Give me a heart that trusts you fully, knowing you will meet every need I have. Thank you for caring for and sustaining me, my kids, and our homeschool.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
This Week’s Printable and Homeschool Prayer
These printables have short, totally do-able prompts and reflective questions to help keep you in the Word daily, and a sheet with the weekly prayer on it you can print and hang in your homeschool room.
It’s my hope that this printable helps serve as a reminder to be in God’s Word each day, praying and seeking His will for your life and homeschool.
Join the Challenge!
Finally, f you want to join in on the challenge from the very beginning, make sure to sign up below, and get a copy of my Printable Devotional Pages sent to your inbox. Join in any time, and you’ll start the following Monday with Week #1!
I would love to hear from you: Is it easy for you to cast your cares on the Lord? What practical steps will you take this week to make this happen? Drop a line in the comments below!
