i want to share a story with you. a true story.
a story that begins with a recent break i took off of social media.
i try to make it a point of doing this every so often as there's so much on there that i am just not a fan of and it can leave me feeling overwhelmed at times.
during this break however, i needed something that i had saved on instagram so i decided to quickly log on.
"oh since i'm on why not just give it a quick scroll" i thought to myself, after all i wanted to see what i had missed but oh how i was quickly reminded of why i got off in the first place.
social media is a place where the world shares everything they do, everything they see, everything they experience and so on. a place to find inspiration, a place to learn, a place to explore. there are so many benefits to it right?! yes, i can agree with that, however there are so many downfalls to it as well.
as a homemaker and homeschooling mama i can admit there are days where i feel isolated and alone. i'm home with my child and there are things on my daily schedule that need to get done. teaching lessons, cleaning, cooking, errands, appointments, driving to extra curricular activities, the list goes on and on of which there is no escape, those things need to get done. but in the midst of those things life is also happening. my little might be having a day where he's not listening and misbehaving or maybe i'm having a day where i'm feeling all the feels. this is real life and these are the days that a lot of us have.
PAUSE and hold that thought.
now let's rewind back to my decision to scroll through instagram to see what i had missed.
so what did i miss you ask?
i missed the mama sharing what she and her kiddos made that day for art. i missed the incredible trip someone i follow took to italy. i missed the mama that shared what she baked and enjoyed with her kiddo for poetry tea time. i missed the shopping haul of all the "things" i just have to have. i missed the stories from mama's showing how well their lessons were going and another account sharing clips from her date night.
so what's wrong with all of this?
nothing. nothing is wrong with sharing all of this beauty and achievement. what is wrong however, is the fact that most of us are not sharing every day reality!
yes, we all have these beautiful days and moments and they are glorious but what we actually post and share is not every day reality.
social media has become this place where we document life in this fairy tale aspect. i mean, would we all run to get on social media if all we were going to see were people complaining about their day? no, of course we wouldn't and that's not what i am getting at. i am speaking from a place where i feel that we as a society paint this picture of what life "should" look like and that's not okay on so many levels.
we are setting these expectations of "this is what a mother should look like and if you don't look like this then you're not a mother". "this is what your home needs to look like and if it doesn't look like this, then it isn't a good home". "this is how to homeschool and if you don't homeschool like this then you're doing a terrible job". "this is love and if your love story doesn't look like this, then it isn't love". i could go on and on.
why are we doing this? why not be honest if you're having a rough a day? maybe someone can relate. maybe someone is feeling exactly how you are that day and you being honest will help them to not feel alone.
why are we ashamed and afraid of being honest?
why are we setting these expectations? why are we making up these philosophies? why are we obsessed with perfection and our way being the right way.
we have no need to run to the wisdom of this world when the wisdom of god dwells in our risen savior. it is so important that we cling to christ and be saturated in his word so that we will not be easily swayed by the philosophy of this world.
there is no "right" way of being a mother. god chose you to be a mother and all he asks is that you love, lead, care for and disciple your children.
there is no manual for how our homes should look. home is where the heart is. those four walls your surrounded by don't make your house a home. who lives in that house is what makes it a home.
there is no right or wrong way to homeschool. what works for you may not work for someone else. we homeschool our children so that we can build a homeschool that is fitting to our children's needs and that fits the lifestyle we choose to live. at the end of the day, your homeschool should not look like mine. teach your children how you see fit. disciple your children. create leaders.
and love, is their a recipe we need to follow so that we're doing it the way the world says we should? nope! "love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. it does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. love never ends." 1 corinthians 12:4-8.
so yes, did i quickly regret signing back on to social media. yes, i did. but at the same time it was a huge eye opening moment for me. when you're on it, it's almost like you're in a trance, mindlessly scrolling. you don't see anything wrong with it at that moment. but when you step away from it for some time and then come back to it, you just see things differently. you see the amount of time you spend on there, you see what you could be doing with that time if you weren't on there, you see what you missed and you see what you didn't.
am i telling you to get off of social media? no, not at all. social media is the way of this world these days and a lot of our businesses run on them. what i am doing though is reminding you to fix your eyes on jesus and not be deceived and distracted by the ways of this world. i am reminding you that you are a child of god and that he placed you on this earth with a purpose and that purpose belongs to you and only you. it does not match anyone else's. live by HIS ways. live by HIS commandments. live by HIS word. that is all you need.
though this world has a list of things people "need" to be happy and successful, all that we truly need is jesus.
remember that.
love, tai
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