I always tell new moms not to make any judgments about parenting for the first three months. Sleeplessness, diaper blow outs, and spit up rule those days, and it’s easy to feel like you’ll never be good at this Mom thing. Likewise, I advise new homeschoolers not to make any judgments for the first year. Curriculum changes, schedule changes, and chaos dominate the beginning months. It’s easy to feel like homeschooling was a colossal mistake.

I wish I could say that after those time periods, you never feel like a failure as a mom or educator again. But training up other humans is hard. Sometimes it seems like a landscape littered with mines that you keep stepping on. Thankfully, you’re not parenting alone. The Lord called you to this life, and he will guide you around all the pitfalls. And when you do make mistakes, he will show you how to redeem the situation. As long as you keep your focus on him, you’ll accomplish all you hoped. So the next time you feel like you can’t do this, remember this verse:

“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3