Quote:

“Oh, Jo. Jo, you have so many extraordinary gifts; how can you expect to lead an ordinary life? You’re ready to go out and – and find a good use for your talent. Tho’ I don’t know what I shall do without my Jo. Go, and embrace your liberty. And see what wonderful things come of it.” -- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Context:

To many of us moms, Marmee in Little Women, was truly an example to live up to!  She was the anchor for the March household, a woman of noble character. She was patient, generous with her time, a good listener and always full of wise words to pass on to her four daughters. Her daughters trusted her, they went to her when faced with hard things and she willingly helped them and listened to them. You never see her react harshly to her daughters, but gently and lovingly correct them. I mean she truly was a mother who set the standard incredibly high! 

In this scene of Little Women,  Jo March, ready to embark on her life, full of dreams and vision and with talent bursting out of her, her sweet Marmee calms her anxious heart, builds her up and shows Jo her deep love and belief in her and in the gifts that she has been given. Encouraging her to go after this extraordinary life she dreams of! Yet we can also hear the sadness in her voice, knowing that when Jo chases her dreams and leans into this life apart from home, Marmee is going to have to go through the suffering of being without her sweet daughter that she has poured her heart and soul into raising. 

Isn’t this life as a mother? We are handed a precious baby, a gift from the Lord. Alongside our husbands, we pour everything out to give this little one  the best shot at life. We pray, we nurture, we teach, we comfort, we disciple, we correct, we encourage and we pray and we pray and we pray. Then in a blink they are on the cusp of adulthood, and that little one that you treasured so deeply, so intentionally, that needed you, is now ready to start thinking and dreaming of a life of their own. All the while trying to remember deep down this was the whole point in the years at home. 

I’m finding myself in this place right now. Our oldest daughter (of course you all know Aubrey), is graduating high school in two weeks! For the last 17 years I have had the privilege of spending my days with her, homeschooling her from the very beginning. Our homeschool days of 5 kiddos have been so full. What I thought started out as a sacrifice ended up being one of the greatest gifts the Lord has ever given me. In the fall Aubrey will still be home with us, but she will be embarking on her own future, chasing her own gifts and dreams of becoming a writer. We have poured into her and encouraged her that she can absolutely accomplish what she dreams, and with her hard work and her determination I know that as she embraces the truths she has learned in our home she will begin to see the wonderful things that will come from it, just as Marmee told Jo. And then next year, I am going to turn around and do it all over again with Adalyn. 

The days of all 5 of my kids in my homeschool are coming to an end, yet I can say with full confidence that although I have certainly not got it all right, I have been intentional with these years that I have had them home with me, and by the grace of God I will slowly launch them into this world to become servants of Christ, ready to use the beautiful gifts that God gave them to bring glory to Him. Remembering all the while this was the goal!

I will leave you with some words of wisdom from one of my favorite authors, whom I also consider a mentor. 

“As I grow older, God opens my eyes a little more each day to see the preciousness and fragility of my children’s lives. And each day, I lean a little more harder on the Lord. Each day my confidence and faith for building my own home rests a little less on my abilities and strengths as a mother, and more and more on his character and grace.

I can rest assured that the same gracious God who entrusted four precious, fragile lives into my hands will be faithful to keep those children in His hands. He will build a home through me, and a testimony through my children, that will stand here on this earth and throughout eternity.” -- Sally Clarkson from Seasons of a Mother’s Heart. 

“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” Psalms 127: 4

Written by our guest writer: Kristy Skains