I never planned to be a homeschool mom, but as many of you have experienced, 2020 has given us quite a bit of things we didn’t “plan” for. As a former 7th grade, then high school teacher, and now adult high school teacher, I thrive in the classroom environment. There is nothing I love more than having a well planned lesson work perfectly as students are engaged in conversation, opening their minds to new ideas, and then incorporating what they have learned. The biggest differences between teaching in a classroom and teaching in my home is I am also “Mom.” 

Being “Mom” and “teacher” often rips my plans right down the middle. 

Whining? Rip. 

Constant reminders of the things that should be a routine? Rip. 

Crying in the middle of an assignment? Rip. 

A dog that needs to be let outside? Rip. 

Doctors appointments or my own work demands? Rip. 

Most recently I had decided in August we were going to make my own history dreams come true and go to Colonial Williamsburg in October for a three day field trip. I researched where to stay and all the magical history experiences to see. I had lessons leading up to the trip incorporating the main historical time periods we would experience. It was well planned and that my friends made my heart happy. When the trip was over and we were driving home, I anticipated my children’s response as I asked, “What was the one thing you liked the most?” They all replied, “Mini golf!” 

Mini golf. Every. Single. One. 

Mini golf was NOT a part of the plan for this trip, but an impromptu stop.

Often the magic happens in the unplanned.

Don’t believe me? 
– Ask Mary. Having Jesus as a virgin was certainly not in her original “life plans.” 
– Ask Paul who was persecuting Christians and then on a road to Damascus Jesus appeared changing the entire trajectory of his life. 
– Ask Peter. He stepped off a boat in a storm to walk on water toward Jesus. Who would even think that was possible?
– Ask Moses. Over and over again he is hit with the unplanned. 

We find the story of Moses in Exodus. He was a Hebrew and was to be killed as a newborn because the Pharaoh was worried of their strength in numbers. But his mother instead placed him in the Nile River in a basket when she could no longer keep him hidden. There in the Nile River he was found and raised by the daughter of the Pharaoh. You can read more on this in Mom Guilt.

Year later, Moses witnesses an Israelite being beaten by an Egyptian. He takes it upon himself to kill the Egyptian and hide the body (Exodus 2:11-12). After the threat of his execution by Pharaoh he ran until he reached his planned destination of Midian. He sits down at a well where he witnesses and then rescues seven daughters being harassed by shepherds. This unplanned act of kindness results in an unplanned dinner and then marriage to one of the daughters (Exodus 3:13-21). 

Just as Moses settles into the rhythm and routine of his life in Midian as a shepherd to his father-in-laws flock, God shows up in a burning bush. He instructs him to lead the Israelites from slavery and to the Promise Land. Just as most of us do, Moses begged for God to Please Send Someone Else. Certainly God could not use him. Certainly there is someone better suited for the job. Certainly He has been mistaken. Most definitely this was not in Moses plans, but he is obedient, eventually (Exodus 3-4).

The result is not instant; not even close. 

Can I be vulnerable for a minute? 

I don’t think we fear the unplanned, but the result. 

You see when I plan I am already envisioning the results of my hard work. But if we look back at all the unplanned moments in the Bible you see HIS work. 

Take a minute to do the same. Write a list of all the “unplanned” that has occurred and how you see HIS work in it. Let me help get you started with a list of a few of my own “unplanned” situations: 
-Marrying my husband. He was supposed to just be my “hot summer fling.”
-Marrying my husband after being together for 7 months when we were planning a big wedding for 5 months later.
-Moving across the country to North Carolina.
-Unplanned pregnancies, especially the first and the last. 
-The loss of our first son. 
-Stepping out of the classroom to be a stay at home mom. 
-Asked to write for a friends blog. 
-Working for a nonprofit that distributes books. 
-COVID-19
-Homeschooling three kids.

How did your list turn out? I am currently sitting in some “unplanned” situations that I can’t yet see the result and it scares me. Which is pretty silly considering I just made a short list and have very specific links to God’s work in each. I am guessing you do to. 

So I am going to end with a pep talk to myself and to you too:

This “unplanned” situation might feel overwhelming. It might feel so out of the normal, off the boat into the crashing waves, or right up to a sea with an enemy in pursuit that giving up may feel like the only good option. But it is not. Instead, be obedient. Say “yes” to the unplanned pregnancy. Say “yes” to stepping out into a scary situation. Say “yes” to leading others toward the promise God has given you. No one else is more equipped because no one else was called to do what God is asking of you. 

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. 
Proverbs 16:9

P.S. If you don’t know how Moses’ story ends, take the time to keep reading in Exodus, you will not be disappointed.