An Ordered Unschooling Life?

13 June

Is it possible for unschoolers to live an ordered life? Surely order involves careful planning and schedules that need to be kept, and these don’t form the framework of our unschooling lives?

Order sounds good, doesn’t it? We have a finite amount of time. Perhaps we should make every minute count with careful planning. Or is an ordered life not scheduled minute-by-minute but built on a foundation of prayer instead?

We know we should be faithful in our daily prayers, taking time to talk with God and to read the Bible and other spiritual books. But life can sometimes get overwhelmingly busy. We might neglect our prayer life and start to live in a disordered way, doing what we think is best without any thought of God. Maybe we don't even consider that we might need His help. But if we pray consistently, putting God first in our lives, the Holy Spirit can guide us: we listen, learn to trust God and receive His unconditional love, which enables us to love our family and friends the same way.

But prayer alone isn't enough. We need to live our faith and make it visible in our lives: our kids need to see us praying, reading our Bibles, making decisions, and reacting to everything that happens to us through the lens of our faith. We should approach prayer with joy rather than with duty. Our faith has to become like the air we breathe. It's essential, and we can't help sharing it with our family. It has to be the foundation of our lives.

Everything will flow from that foundation. We won't need to schedule our lives tightly out of fear. Instead of controlling our own lives and those of our kids, we'll want to trust God and go where He leads. Sometimes this might not look ordered on the surface, but underneath, could God have everything in hand? Could His ideas be bigger than those contained in our plans?

Yes, our lives won’t look perfect, even if we have that foundation of faith. Our days are probably very messy and even difficult. So, how do we know we're living ordered lives? Could it be the peace that we feel? Amongst the chaos, we know we’re on the right path. Everything is happening as it should.