Voice of Truth: 5th Edition, September/October 2021

A BEAUTIFUL MESS

BY JESSICA PRUKNER Life sometimes throws us curve balls that we aren’t expecting, and sometimes the balls smack us right in the head. I am the homeschooling mom with the 4 ft. tall dry erase calendar board for all the family to see when they walk in the door. I have every day planned and scheduled, and I have our Bible verse for the month up there right next to our goals.

Honestly, this board makes me smile every time I walk past it due to my structured personality type. I just get that satisfactory, warm and fuzzy feeling. Unfortunately, in the last year of life this board needed a dry erase eraser magnetically attached to the board because my plans seemed to implode right before my very eyes. My son, who is 11, got diagnosed with a serious autoimmune disease. For a while we were able to manage it with diet changes and things improved, but then one day nothing seemed to be working anymore and he got seriously sick. This was very traumatic for him and our entire family, but thanks to the blessing of homeschooling we were able to not only endure, but find ways for our family to thrive in the midst of trial.

Many years ago, we initially chose to homeschool due to our traveling lifestyle, but in the past seven years I have found countless reasons along the journey to be so very thankful for our decision. If our son had been in school, he would have had anxiety, embarrassment, higher risk of viruses and infections, and eventually he would have been unable to attend for weeks, which would have led to him missing out and falling behind. This never happened at home. We made some small adjustments and he almost never missed a day of learning in the comfort of his own home, with his little emotional support dog and parrot by his side. We were able to make every doctor appointment and test without the stress of calling in sick to school or asking permission.

Many families may be in this very situation we found ourselves in: homeschooling because of a health challenge or even the current day pandemic. The great news is homeschooling is such a blessing for families like ours. God gave us our children and although He does not bring sickness, He knew what we would go through and what we would need to make it through. For me that included the ability to homeschool through this trial.

Instead of stress and anxiety, we surrounded our son with Bible healing promises, affirmations, worship music, and faith. When the atmosphere could have been filled with ridicule and embarrassment, we filled it with uplifting visitors, friends, and prayer warriors. God’s Word says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God still has us in the middle of this trial, standing firm in His healing promises and faith; but thankfully we do it as a family, together, learning and comforted. Some days are better than others, but we know and appreciate that every day is a blessing.

21