Perseverance: Don’t homeschool without it!

“For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised.”
Hebrews 10:36 AMP

Many of us have resumed school, schedules, and routines we’ve let up on for the summer months. September brings with it a sense of a “new” season and at the same time the familiar routines that can be comforting and even energizing. Maybe you are facing another year of pretty much “same old…same old.” Or maybe you took your first child off to college. Perhaps you have a new baby that has interrupted how school was once run in your home—in a good way, of course! Whatever the situation, I know for sure there is one thing you will need this year: perseverance.

Perseverance is the quality that keeps going despite any difficulties; that is stubborn and resolute regardless of circumstances or challenges. According to today’s verse, perseverance is “steadfast patience and endurance.” At the beginning of the school year—or a new season—you may not think you will need perseverance. You may “feel” excited and focused. I certainly don’t want to rain on your parade. But I have to be honest. Before the year is over, you will need perseverance. There will be a day, or a week, or a month…when you need the will to press on when you want to throw in the towel. I suspect there are some of you who need perseverance right now as you are STARTING the year. There may be no “first day of school” enthusiasm left in you. You’ve been homeschooling a long time, or parenting a long time, or at the same job for a long time. The honeymoon may be long over and you are left trying to muster up the energy and excitement to finish the race.

It’s easy to start things well; it’s the finishing strong that can be a challenge. We rely on our emotions, our circumstances, or our friends to keep us going. And those all play a part. But when those are taken away and it’s just us and our task—that’s when we need the strength to persevere.

Where do we get it? How do we stay engaged when our emotions have “left the building,” so to speak? If you’ve been reading me for any length of time, you know Hebrews 10:35-36 are some of my favorite verses. I felt God “gave” me these verses early on in our homeschool journey. They kept me steady and grounded for many years! This is the first way to develop perseverance. Stand on God’s Word. Remember the promises He’s given you personally, or find some that you can hold on to! Read them out loud when you are feeling discouraged. Write them in the front of your Bible. Post them on the fridge, your mirror, or in your schoolroom. This isn’t just some positive attitude exercise!  There is real power available to us through His Word.