Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here: The Homeschool Convention

Yes, the Homeschool Convention Hall can be the gates of an Inferno for a homeschool parent.  But why? 

For Sale: All natural & organic perfect SAT Scores, classic literature, strong character development, essential oils, mathematical genius, musical appreciation and every important historical event in a beautiful, easy-to-teach, game format your kids will love in one boxed curriculum!

Found: Sore feet, gray hairs, headaches, worries, games of all sorts, every math manipulative , wide eyes, expensive refreshment, pushy sales people, excitement, hope and fears for the future. 

It's funny and true.

How does the Convention Floor make you feel?  Inadequate?  Worried? Possibly idolizing a curriculum or expert? 

For a moment, consider more of what is written on the entrance to Hell. 

I AM THE WAY INTO THE CITY OF WOE.
I AM THE WAY TO A FORSAKEN PEOPLE.
I AM THE WAY INTO ETERNAL SORROW.
SACRED JUSTICE MOVED MY ARCHITECT.
 ...
ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE.

(The Inferno, Canto 3,Ciardi translation)

Is that curriculum and unrealistic expectation paving your way to a City of Woe? Are you overbooking with co-ops, activities, or subjects?

Although God has not forsaken you, have you forsaken your children for a curriculum, process or ideal?  Have you forsaken the ideals in your heart by covenanting an ideal presented in a sales pitch?

The way to eternal sorrow.  WOW! This one struck a cord. 

Do the plans you set out pave a way to eternal sorrow, or at least a year of sorrow? How?  Buying that 3rd grade curriculum when you know your child hasn't mastered 2nd grade? Are you expecting that your child must master ideas set out by someone who doesn't know them as the individual they are?

If we do not accept ourselves and children as the unique reflections of God that we are, we are doomed to sorrow.  We will constantly feel jealous of the other Pintrest boards and parents who seem to have it together.  Seek the joy in knowing you and your children have special talents which are a mere reflection of God.  Relish those.

Maybe the sacred justice is our personal lack of peace because of our lack of faith.

Abandon the hope of finding an answer here on the convention floor.  The answers for your homeschool do not lie in a speakers' inspirational words or opinions.  The answer is not found in a box of shiny, new math or reading curriculum.  The peace and confidence can only be found within your own personal revelations; revelations of what you and your children are truly capable of and what you were made for.