Posted on 09/23/2004 7:04:45 PM PDT by SLB
She lives in a small town in Tennessee, or in a subdivision in North Carolina, or on a ranch in Montana .
She may be 15. Or, she may have graduated from college. Either way, the odds are no boy has ever paid much attention to her. She may wonder if she will ever get married. She is lonely.
Whats her problem? The answer is simple: She is different.
She doesnt particularly like being different. She may tell you that she doesnt care; but she does.
Her peers think she is a snob. Her mom says the reason other girls dont want to be around her is because they are jealous. That doesnt help much. So she tries to be friendly and kind but that doesnt help much, either. She may be shunned by other girls and ignored by boys.
She is different. And who wants to be different? Nobody likes others who are different and nobody likes being different.
I have met hundreds of homeschooled girls like this around the world. Each girl thinks she is the only one who is having these experiences. But, there are thousands just like her. If they ever find one another, there would be a huge group hug. And, yes, probably lots of tears. They would finally have found others like themselves who arent interested in what girls normally think or talk about. Their talk wouldnt center around boys or movies or how stupid some other girl is. They would talk about their families and about what interests them and about God and about Jesus. They would pray together and for one another.
That girl from Tennessee who is 15. Shes actually 15 going on 21. She seems to have skipped the teenage years altogether. The girl who has graduated from college without meeting her future husband has been told many times not to worry. Mister right is just waiting somewhere in the future. She struggles to believe it and to trust God for her future family.
These girls are different. Not because they wear Christian hairdos or clothing. It really has little to do with externals. But it has everything to do with their Father and what He has done inside them. They are just different, whether they like being different or not. Everyone can tell.
One day I was trying to understand this regarding a young girl who was a friend of my son. All at once the Lord showed me a kind of vision about this girl. Heres what I saw:
The girl was in her Baptist Sunday school class. All the kids were sitting in a circle. Just then I saw Jesus open the door to the room. He walked directly to this girl and held out His hand to her. She took His hand and got up from her chair. Then Jesus took her out of the class and closed the door. I understood Him to be saying, This girl doesnt belong in the same way other people belong. I have made her exclusively Mine.
I knew this didnt mean she would never have a family or always be by herself. But the Lord made me understand that He is using the home schooling movement because it is the easiest context in which to raise young people who can be truly different.
Why do I keep using the word, Different? It is because of the origin of that word. The word different is the most exact translation of the Greek work, HOLY (hagios). These kids are different in that the Lord has placed in them something which makes them holy unto Him. They are not really trying to be this way. Its something He has done. He has separated them from the kind of things normal young people find important. They may struggle with what God has done. They may be terribly lonely. But they ARE different and it is the work of God, Himself.
It is not easy to encourage these girls. Loneliness is no fun and being different can be a real bummer, too. Telling someone to have faith can sound pretty shallow, even though its the truth. The girl who graduated from college and never had a boy who was a friend ended up meeting the man of God she had always dreamed about. They are married now. Another is still waiting, praying for faith to believe it will all turn out as her heart hopes it will.
This is a holy generation. It is a generation set apart unto Him. It is a generation of young people the world has not seen in so long it doesnt remember what real holiness looks like. The purposes of God rest on our children being willing to walk in the world but, at the same time, separated from it. The world waits for a people to show them that a relationship with Jesus isnt a religious put-on, but is worth giving their lives to, too.
Our girls have been created by the Lord to show everyone what the Bride of Christ looks like, sounds like, acts like, believes like. It can be a burden, but it is precious. We need to deeply respect our girls for what they have been called to be. They need to be encouraged to understand who they are to a world (and, yes, even to a Church) who desperately needs to see the kind of Lady Jesus is returning for. We need to give them a vision for who they are that is deeper than simply saying to them, the other girls are jealous of you.
Wished I could have done that.
I'm sorry you see it as Self-righteous hostility. For it was really self testification of a hostile takeover of Christs will in my life. If it weren't for my family coming into the fellowship of homeschool families and ministries, I'd never would have become a believer in Christ.
"and aren't subjected to the Lord Of the Flies environment quite as much"-
As I wiped the Samuel Adams lager off my monitor, I realized that your description of the publik skewls was the best, and funniest, I'd ever seen . Kudos!
Well done. I neglected that, since none of the christian's that I know still go with the head coverings mentioned in this verse.
You know, that's the one thing that has really surprised me about my own kids. They really like adults and elders. The older woman my daughter cleans for tentatively called me to ask if I thought that my daughter would like to go to lunch with her in lieu of cash payment. I asked my daughter and she chose lunch. Ms. X as THRILLED. She enjoys my daughter's company, but honestly didn't think any 12 year-old would rather go to lunch with an old lady than get money. But, no. My kids like people. Kids, young adults, old adults. It doesn't matter. They find all age groups interesting.
Maybe he's talking about a Night Ranger/Sister Christian hairdo? Motorinnnn.....What's your price for flight....In findin' Mister Right....
:-)
"Also, there is plenty of child abuse even with public schools kids. Teachers are trained to recognize such, catch some now and then, but still much goes unnoticed."
There are also situations where teachers themselves are abusive, at least verbally/emotionally. I know of a serious case of this locally (the teacher was booted into administration). Then there are also the bad situations that can and do happen among peers on campus... I tend to wonder, simply based on our past school experiences, whether more often parents have to act to help their children in bad situations on campus than teachers need to act to help children in bad family situations.
The tonsure.
:-)
I don't wear a "cloth", Like I said, I keep a ponytail... yet the scripture says something about shaved heads... kind of read between the lines, many feel that hair is the covering.
As does my immediate family. Yet there are those that don't see it that way.
I guess back in the times of Paul, and Timothy, maybe because of the vast amount of women who still lived like they worshipped Baal, or Gaia, maybe shaved their heads. And in this scripture it was specified for their sake.
That's the only other conclusion I have to that particular reference.
Thank you! I only wish I'd read it before posting to check for grammar. {snicker}
That's funny... that's too funny! LOL
We learned this from a Home School Father who learned this from the Mennonites/Amish. He lived with them occasionally to understand their practices of Biblical Betrothal and romance.
And isn't it amazing how many things we find in Gods word, many Christians never even know. I'm sure you've been convicted or confronted with some of the Fathers Holy Scriptures, even to you seem mysterious!
As I've said earlier, those that I've actually met I've liked and admired.
But they didn't carry the attitudes that prevail on these HS threads.
Why do I read these threads? Because I really do admire those that do the right thing for thier families even when difficult or unpopular. Even when they take gougings from the government, friends and family.
But some of the SELF righteousness on these threads is worthy of a big-time Barf Alert.
I've got my kids in a public school by choice and don't regret it.
It is sad to think that so many communities exist where the only people who care for and love their kids are the homeschoolers.
What about Amish, Mennonites and Hittites?
What about those who live in extremely poor societies,, like the hills of Eastern Kentucky, or parts of WV,VA and TN? Where there is not alot of funding for public school to these isolated living areas?
Yes, there have been things that have convicted me, and things that I have trouble understanding. My hope is, as I go through life, that I will come to understand it more and more. :)
It's not a permanent wave. Those are the Devil's work. Ask any woman who has one. :)
For some, who survive amongst muslim and islam countries, homeschooling is also the only Biblical teachings these children may get, less they risk their lives going to school everyday as new Believers.
Maybe my choice of words in expressing myself were not adequate, however, I was simply trying to share a small testimony of what the Lord has done in my life, and convicted me of.
Reading that article opened up a huge can of my past. It was rather heartwarming to read such a testification.
I so wanted to share some of mine too!
Take care
I gaurantee that you must hear Jesus calling you to be saved! I wonder about the people that say they are Christian but are "Spiritually deaf". Ever hear the verse, "My sheep hear My voice."?
The problem is not from people that hear Jesus, it comes from people that don't hear Jesus and say they do. If you are not led Spiritually, then how are you led? When I question people about their being "Born Again", they say "Oh yeah", but they are no different than yesterday. The truth is they don't have a clue because they are still dead, deaf, crippled, and diseased. When you get cured, you know the difference. One of the clues is Jesus will talk to you.(actually the Holy Spirit, but they are One).
If you can't hear Jesus, then check your dip stick because you might be low on oil like the foolish virgins.
You know...I'd agree with you but - I know one boy who is homeschooled. His dad just moved to VA and the mother has a new husband. The boy is 14 now and has never been in school. He doesn't do outside activities, no sports, no church...zilch. The mom is planning on moving in a year or so with the new husband. She has told me the boy is out of the house when he is 18. So essentially he goes out into the world with really nothing. I know this is an extreme example...but I think they do need to do some stuff with other kids, church, or other homeschooled kids. This kid does nothing and i worry for him.
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