One day Melissa said to Mummy...
"Mummy, can God ever die?"
Mummy answered,
"No, he can't. God has no beginning and will have no end, Lissa."
Melissa said,
"Mummy, is Jesus God?"
Mummy, knowing where this was leading, answered,
"Yes, Melissa. Jesus is both God and man."
Melissa said,
"Mummy, did Jesus die?"
Mummy, feeling a bit perplexed, answered,
"Yes, Melissa Jesus did die."
Melissa said,
"So, did God die Mummy?"
Mummy answered,
"That is a very good question. And I'm afraid that I do not know the answer Melissa. Would you like to play with the Play Doh?"
No Man (Woman or Child) is an Island Teen - age culture invaded our world.
What was going on in culture was also a factor...
This is a picture of the P1 class from Dunblane Primary School...most of these children were killed when a deranged gun-man walked into the school, opened fire, and shot them...
In the aftermath schools, very understandably, locked down...like prisons.
This did not happen in some far off country...but on our very own doorstep.
Emilie was the same age as these children...it was too close for comfort; I was frightened.
In the beginning…
“Beginnings are difficult. Implied in the process is choice, a road not taken. Whenever we begin the “dreamtime” comes to an end, and we mourn the loss of the potential, forfeited when the actual beginning is made.”
From: Storymaking in Education and Therapy, by Alida Gersie and Nancy King.
“What on earth made you take your children out of school?”
I am asked that question more times than I care to remember. I chose an unconventional path, it invites curiosity and questions, and only time will tell if it was a good idea or an ill-advised act of madness. Implied in the choice is a “road not taken”, which means that your life experience is different from that of most of your peers. Maybe one day you will be glad, but for now, it is a pain to answer the predictable questions about whether or not you did school work in your pyjamas, and if it is legal, and how you took exams.
So, what made me do it?
There isn’t a short answer; but these next posts may serve as an attempt at a very long-winded explanation.
Part One:
The biological act of giving birth was not sufficient to transform this particular girl into a mother. There must be more to motherhood than looking after the body of a child, I thought; more to the art and skill of it than merely keeping people fed and clothed. Then the enormity of the whole deal dawned, and I felt somewhat under skilled and overwhelmed! Deep breathing, herbal remedies and a quick course in relaxation techniques restored a degree of equilibrium; I made an effort to “get a grip” started brushing my hair, and pondered:
What is a child?
What does it mean to be responsible?
What kind of environment do children need to grow?
How do you define success?
What is education?
It is one thing to fill a space in one’s heart with “starlight from heaven” (see previous fairytale post)…but what was I going to do now, now that so much starlight was living with me?
I don’t seem to be a very intuitive person, what seems to come naturally to others is hard work for me. I’m not sure why that is. Practically everything I know has come out of a book (having tomes in every crevice of our home is a worthy testament to this truth (!)). So, I did what I always do when I don’t know what to do…I went on a course (Wee Friends Pre-School) and read lots of books.
I learned that children are born persons…and should be respected as such…and not talked down to.
“ I know a person of three who happened to be found by a caller alone in the drawing-room. It was spring, and the caller thought to make himself entertaining with talk about the pretty “baa-lambs.” But a pair of big blue eyes were fixed upon him and a solemn person make this solemn remark, “Isn’t it a dwefful howid thing to see a pig killed?” We hope that she had never even heard of the killing of a pig, but she made as effective a protest against twaddle as would any woman of Society…”
From: Home Education, by Charlotte Mason
Susan Schaeffer Macaulay says: “Harshness, fear, and autocracy are ruled out if we follow the New Testament teaching that leadership means a serving of the other person…We are to lead in love.” I learned that I had a responsibility to provide an atmosphere, or a framework, where we could all learn how to live harmoniously with each other. I have often meditated on the verse “Blessed are the peace-makers.” An abundance of love, common sense, and wisdom are needed for any group of people making a home together; but anytime I thought I had it cracked – the whole being a mother thing – a new phase would begin. And it was back to the drawing board to think about what I was doing, and why. There are no set formulas then, nor will it happen spontaneously as if by magic.
Aside: you know that people often say to me that I am “lucky” to have such a lovely family – and indeed you are all very lovely…I smile and say “yes, I am.”… but I think, “Buddy, LUCK had absolutely nothing to do with it!!!”.
I’m still not sure what success is, but it has to be more than just being a cog in a wheel, more than earning the highest salary possible (don’t misunderstand me here, higher salaries do make for a bit of an easier life, I just don’t think that’s all there is to it). Being the best version of yourself is part of it…being in tune with the song God wrote with you in mind is another…finding a way to be a positive presence in the world. Education then is what equips a person to be all that, a truly good person, in step with God and themselves. It’s more than learning times tables and how to pass tests.
That is why I sent you to the lovely Wee Friends Preschool. Respect for the person, a nurturing environment where you had to learn take turns in the playhouse, and wait in line for a snack, good educational content and a pretty yellow bird. It was a good foundation… and hard act to follow...
What is a family? A family is a mobile...a living...intricate mobile made up of human personalities...an artwork that takes years, even generations, to produce...which is never finished.
Every individual is growing, changing, developing, or declining- intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and psychologically. A family is a grouping of individuals who are affecting each other intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and psychologically. No two years, no two months, or two days is there the exact same blend or mix within the family, as each individual person is changing.
Contestantly changing patterns, affected by each other, inspiried by each other, helped by each other. A family which is real in space and time and history, with roots in the past and stretching out into the future.
A Christian family is blown by gentle the breeze of the Holy Spirit...one can picture not perfection, but a measure of reality in thinking...never static, with always new fascination in discovering new points of communication as human beings are growing and developing.
The deep underlying sense of importance of family continuity must be stronger than the insistence on having perfection. People throw away what they could have had, by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have...
Artists have to work to produce their art. It doesn't fall down ready made from the sky!
From: What Is A Family by Edith Schaeffer.
