Please Don't Follow Too Close

This week our youngest girls began their first homeschool co-op experience (and it was awesome). On the first day of classes I walked the girls through the crowd to find their classrooms and met a few new moms, some of whom told me that they had heard me speak or they read the blog. It made me want to wince and say “For goodness’ sake, don’t follow me too closely. I’m still learning all this stuff just like you.” For real.

Each of us has to find our own way. It’s okay if your way is different from mine. Get a few tips from me, feel what speaks to your heart, and move on. Be careful who you allow to speak into your life. If you walk away feeling judged and hopeless, they’re not speaking life. Don’t read blogs or Social Media accounts that induce a feeling of “less than.” Everybody puts their best edited version on Pinterest and Instagram, with a soft filter to blur the reality.

Weed out the ones that contribute to discontent. Maybe in a few months you’ll be able to follow them with a different perspective and it won’t be a problem. Meanwhile you have to live in your today, so throw off anything that hinders.

Don’t try to squeeze your family into someone else’s mold. If you’re having an issue and someone’s suggestions help, that’s great, by all means take their advice. If you and your family have worked out some ways of doing things, don’t let another person’s judgment make you feel apologetic about it. Often insecure people feel the need to loudly “teach” their way. Look for the ones who are quietly confident.

In the same way, if you know in your heart that you wouldn’t keep up with a certain way of doing things more than a few days, don’t go there. Personally, I couldn’t stick with a strict by-the-clock schedule, cooking ahead for a month, or homeschooling strictly by the textbook. I know that about myself, and I’m good with it. If these things speak to your heart, you go, girl.

I’m happy to help and encourage along the way. Just don’t watch too closely or put me on a step higher than you. Let’s just walk the road together, sip some coffee, laugh, cry and pray. We’ll follow the only One who knows what He’s doing. He’s glad for us to be who we are and do things the way that fit us.