Rest for a Weary Mother

God keeps turning all my mistakes into treasures.

There's my baby boy, for example, whom I already blogged about. What an indescribably precious gem he is. Then there's the time I interviewed for the wrong job but got the right one anyway. I love how God makes it so obvious for me. He knows I'll miss it otherwise. Well, it happened again this weekend.

In preparation for homeschooling my son, I had signed up for a homeschooling conference this weekend even though I had just gone to one by the Pearls last month. I thought, I need all the practical advice I could use. So armed with my notebook and pens, I went to hear Sally Clarkson, who homeschooled all 4 of her kids, with only one remaining at home. I thought I would be getting lots of practical tips, especially since her third child has ADD.

Of course I thought wrong. Turns out the conference was themed "Whole Hearted Mother " and did not really deal with the specifics of how-to. Instead, it addressed the foundations and philosophy on not just schooling but mothering in general. I had been focused on how to teach my son addition. Sally spoke on the importance of teaching him to live by faith. She told of miracles in her family (her son was accepted into the prestigious Berklee School of Music...and he couldn't even read music!) that inspired us all. She told us stories of wonder which were clearly engineered by the Master Engineer.

Really I could go on and on about all the wonderful things I learned. One speaker said her mantra was "die to yourself and live to tell about it." Sally said there's no formula, no expert books to our children's success. There is only what we intentionally and unintentionally teach them about God and life.

To sit in a banquet hall filled with other mothers, to laugh and cry together as we shared our tales, to be told that what we do is vitally important, and then to be gently directed back to what's really important was just what this weary mother needed.

I am already signing up for the next conference, and next time I'm dragging all my friends with me. Meanwhile, don't be surprised if this blog all of a sudden becomes the "Whole Hearted Mother Conference Rehash Blog."