Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov. 3:5-6 NIV)

This story of God's miracles has nothing to do with healings or finances or any of the other types of typical miracles. It was, rather, a miracle of how God changed me so that I would follow His will!

My boys weren't even born yet when I started researching where I would eventually send them to school. I knew the name of every Christian school in the region, I knew how much they cost, and I had even interviewed a couple of them. When our oldest was ready to begin Kindergarten, however, our own church had started up a school, and naturally, that was the logical place for him to go. It didn't matter that the school was 45 minutes away and across an international border. I drove him every day to a pre-arranged spot about half-way to the school where he was picked up by our pastor and transported the rest of the way. And every afternoon, I would drive back to that same pre-arranged spot and meet our pastor there to drive him home. It was lots of driving, but to me, it was worth it.

About 3 months into the school year, however, my father passed away suddenly and expectantly, and my mother decided to move up to our region. Initially we thought we would build a place with an in-law suite. We bought a piece of land that wasn't far from our home, and we proceeded to put our house on the market. Our house sold in 3 days. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that it wouldn't be feasible to build a place with an in-law suite, and we were forced to let the piece of property go. Our search for a new home began that day. We only had a short period of time before we had to be out of our current place, and there was absolutely nothing on the market in our area that was suitable for us. The only place we could find that fit our needs and pocket book was in the next town. It was too far from the school at our church. Our son would no longer be able to attend school there.

I didn't worry too much about this. I already knew there were other Christian schools in the area. Slowly but surely, however, each of these schools dropped off the "possibility" list, mostly due to transportation issues. Now what?

I took it to God in prayer. "Lord, You caused our house to sell so quickly. You knew in advance we would move away from the school he's been attending. You also knew that our new place, the one we know you gave to us, wouldn't be accessible for bussing to any Christian school. You have a plan. I am open to following Your lead."

I was out gardening the day I prayed that prayer, and as I pulled dandelions out of my flowerbed, I was immediately overwhelmed with the idea that God had something very different in mind for my boys--And for me! And as I fought with a particularly tough creeping Charlie, an idea began to develop in my head: I could homeschool my boys!

Now please understand that this is the last thing I would have ever wanted to do. I am no teacher. I knew nothing about homeschooling, and being married to a teacher who believed children should be in school, I could already hear what he would say about the idea! "Lord, if this is Your will, help him to be open to it!"

Imagine my surprise the day I broached the subject with my husband to find that he was in total agreement with the idea!

And so we began. The only problem was, I was working part-time. How can you homeschool 6 and 4 year old boys and still maintain a part-time job?

God provided. Again and again. He opened doors for former teachers who were available for private hire at the same rate as child care. He even brought in a retired principal at one point to help us out. Of course my mother was very willing to help out. Her health was initially not stable enough to allow her to care for little boys. Amazingly, just when there was no other help available, her health stabilized.

I didn't realize it at the time, but homeschooling was a lifesaver for my oldest son. Although we never had him formally diagnosed, he has significant ADD; and whereas he had not done all that well academically in the church school he had attended in Kindergarten, the homeschooling environment turned out to be ideal for him. He excelled in his studies to the point that when he eventually merged into the public school system in high school, he graduated with the highest marks in his class and had no trouble being accepted into four different university programs.

I could go on about the advantages of homeschooling for Christian children, but I could also expound on the disadvantages. This story isn't about whether or not a child should be homeschool. It is about how God knew my boys needed to be schooled at home, and the miracles that He brought about to convince me of the same. I needn't have worried about my boys and their schooling. God had it all under control, and when He knew I would never go for what He knew was the best, He put together a whole line of miracles to bring me around.

God is in control. There is ALWAYS Hope!

In His love,
Lyn Chaffart