We’ve been in DC this weekend. In relentless rain. Oh, and a hurricane is heading toward part two of our vacation.
This has been the kids’ dream trip (#homeschoolers, right?!). Yesterday I walked in the rain with my crying 10 year old between Smithsonian buildings. “I’m finally in WASHINGTON DC! And it’s raining! I’ve looked forward to this for SO LONG!” (Have I mentioned before that he’s a tad intense?!)
This weekend has actually been a gift to our family. It’s been a time to rehearse that all of God’s gifts to us are good. And when He gives us rain instead of sunshine, it is an opportunity to give thanks. Give thanks for rain ponchos. Give thanks for $1 bus rides. Give thanks that we are together. Give thanks for amazing museums and opportunities to learn. Give thanks for a dry, safe place to sleep.
God has lavished His grace on us. When I am not gracious with myself, with others, with circumstances, doesn’t it all stem from misplaced hope? Misplaced expectations? A sense of entitlement? Forgetfulness of how little (nothing) I deserve and how much He has lavished?
Most homeschool days are a bit like a rainy vacation in DC. So much to learn and see all around you- but usually it doesn’t go as smoothly as we imagine or hope it will. The baby is cranky. Someone is sick. Someone is tired. Someone doesn’t “feel like” doing work. And part of the journey is saying, “This is not how I wanted this to go! But it is still a good gift.”
It is a gift to learn together. A gift to sanctify one another. A gift to learn perseverance. A gift to learn that learning is worth some struggle and discomfort. A gift to see God’s grace in our failures and extend grace to one another when our fallen sinfulness is extra apparent and crashes against one another.
Grace, grace. God’s grace. Grace that is greater than all my sin.