Reflect

The days of spring are beginning to fade away and we have wrapped up another successful year of school here at home. I have spent the last week organizing and rearranging various curriculum. I have loaded down my Amazon cart and library hold list with books I want to get my hands on, as I continue to hone in on those things that I hope to establish in my children by the end of their academic journey here at home.

Pursuit

I kind of happened into this new realm, haphazardly, in one sense. Education and academia was a familiar space I felt rather comfortable in, that is until I began to really sort through the many various aspects, avenues, approaches and philosophies. To take what I knew into a new realm of exploration was — frightening. Discomfort and uncertainty were not feelings I was altogether used to having when it came to understanding education. But, huddled in the midst of them, there I found myself. I had to step away from all that I knew, in the pursuit of establishing something else. I needed to find that which was worth pursuing. There in the reflecting, all which I have discovered since beginning this journey, leads me to the understanding that this was not a haphazard happening.

Truth, beauty and goodness

I guess, somewhere along the way, I had lost my own sense of wonder for learning. I was not in a state of arrival; I was in a state of “good enough”.  In the same way the Creator of All poured Himself into my life anew, He also has renewed my love and passion for learning. This redeemed mind of mine, is soaking information while being able to sort through and distinguish what I can hold on to and call my own. I have been able to reclaim some of my former underlying principles, ones that will compliment and edify those ideas and philosophies whose goal is to grow in all things truth, beauty and goodness. It is an outcome that no longer seeks to develop the mind for the sake of out-ranking and success. It is an outcome that seeks to develop the mind and heart for the goal of knowing and understanding the Creator of the world and all in it; it is seeking an outcome to use all that one knows and understands, to then make Him (Creator) known.

 In all things

To be able to seek His wisdom, discernment, love and grace in what we see, read, hear, and say – is something worth pursuing. It is something I find highly valuable for myself and for my children. We have been learning  to take the things, people and situations around us with wonder and thoughtfulness. Every day unfolds before us with something new in it to discover. We stand before a vast infinity swirling with concepts and ideas  – some discovered, many not. What joy we should take in being able to approach learning in a way that teaches us to know and understand more of who God is.

Discover the good

A recent practicum I attended, left me even more certain of where we are and where we are heading. This path, for us is good. My hope for all, is that there will be a willingness to plow through and sort out all that is being sent their way. Through the sifting, I hope that there is a discovery for each person. May it be the beginning of a road traveled in the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty – a road that ultimately leads to knowing Him and making Him known. For us, my family? This quote from the speaker at my practicum says it all, “the goodness is revealed in the utility of learning classically – it works to give our students an understanding of God’s universe”.