Overview: If your kids are rapidly approaching adulthood, have you thought about what comes next?!? When the kids leave the house, what’s YOUR next step?
When my boys were fairly young, I started homeschooling them. My oldest son was two at the time, which is really young. However, the days can be long when you’re a stay-at-home mom.
That’s especially true when you’re used to going off to work every day. Homeschool lessons gave us something fun and productive to do together.
It was good for my son. And truth be told, it was good for me as well.
So, I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for over 25 years and a homeschool mom for 17 years. And in 2007, I started blogging about our homeschool adventures.
At the time, there weren’t very many bloggers around. There were a few. But blogging hadn’t really taken off yet. In fact, I didn’t even call my blog a blog. It was a website.
My goal with being a homeschool blogger was to encourage other moms who were on a similar journey to my own. And it was extremely satisfying. I regularly heard from my readers.
They would send me emails telling me how I was changing their lives. They thanked me for my advice. And their kind words encouraged me as well.
I knew that being a homeschooler blogger was something God wanted me to do. It became a ministry opportunity for me.
Then Things Changed
Over the last several years, however, things have changed. There are gazillions of homeschool bloggers, now. My sons are teenagers. And since I just graduated my youngest son, we’ve reached the days when we won’t be homeschooling anymore.
What will I do now?
Will I continue writing to keep encouraging younger homeschool moms or will I do something entirely different with my life?
Until a few months ago, I really didn’t know. I’ve put my heart and soul into my blog for 17 years. I’ve poured out my fears, my struggles, and my joys for all the world to see. I’m deeply invested in it.
But during the past few years, I’ve felt restless. I wondered if I was still where God wanted me? Or if there was a next step I should take once my boys leave the nest?
So, What Now?
Not knowing what that next phase of my life holds can be scary. But it also brings to mind a relevant story from the Bible. In Joshua 3, God told the Israelites to cross the Jordan River.
He told the priests to go first, and they were to carry the Ark of the Covenant. That might not sound like that big of a deal, but the Jordan River was at flood-stage at the time.
The Israelites didn’t always do a good job of obeying God, but they did this time. The priests stepped into the Jordan River, and as they did so, God caused the Jordan River to stop flowing. Joshua 3:15-17 says:
“Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.”
The part that is so encouraging to me is that God didn’t stop the Jordan River from flowing until the priests’ feet touched the water. He waited for them to obey Him before He showed them His power.
They didn’t know what God was going to do. They were probably thinking that they would have to find a way to swim across a flooded river while carrying the Ark of the Covenant.
God didn’t explain to them exactly what He was going to do. But He gave them enough information so that they could obey and wait for Him to show up.
A few months ago, I honestly didn’t know what the future held for me. I wondered if I would continue blogging about homeschooling or something else entirely. Or as my boys become men if my blogging days are also ending.
Going from one phase of life to the next is very difficult. There’s so much I don’t know and if I think about it too much, it can be overwhelming.
Right now, I feel that my role is to mentor homeschool moms who are still facing challenges, and to provide guidance to other moms who are going through similar struggles, based on the difficulties we have overcome over the years.
But there’s so much more about what comes next that remains unclear to me.
Fortunately, I am confident that God knows every detail about what that next step in my life entails. And He will reveal it to me when the time is right. In the meantime, my job is to continue to be obedient and to trust Him to take care of the rest.
Now that my sons don’t need me as much anymore, I have more time to do other things as well. My husband and I are enjoying this new season of life in which we find ourselves. We’re learning that there is life after homeschooling.
We have purchased a tiny camper and we head out as often as we can on adventures. And he’s actively trying to turn his love of landscape photography into a career. If you want to follow along on that new journey, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram.
Are you approaching a major life transition? Did you go through some major changes once you started launching your children from the nest? Please leave a comment below.
Thank you for this. While I haven’t homeschooled my son, I have found your blog helpful as I navigate raising my son as a widow. I am a teaching assistant at a Christian school. My son will be a senior this coming school year. What next is also my big question? Appreciate the scripture insight. Godspeed.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Dawn, and for letting me know that my blog has spoken to you. I also wish you well as you are so close to embarking on a new adventure! God bless you!!!
Michelle,
Awesome scripture reflection! My son was accepted To college for the fall term, but is 14 so I am not quite finished raising him. I am, however, finished with the planning and teaching. Like you, I question what comes next for me, but also like you, I know God has it well in hand. I should not worry, though it frequently brings tears to well:)
Congratulations, Kathy. Yes, it is bittersweet to get to this stage. It is such a comfort to know that God knows exactly what’s going to happen. But yeah, there are definitely tears at this stage.
Three oldest are out of the nest. My 4th, a boy, will be a senior this year (he’s in school though). The youngest, a girl, is probably going to homeschool after being in school for a few years. Yes, we are in transition. Husband has just retired. I don’t know what step God is asking me to take next.
Oh, yes, you have lots of transitions you’re going through as well. Keep moving forward and He’ll reveal it to you in His perfect timing. (I’m trying to remind myself of that as well.)
Hi Michelle,
Must I just say that as a mom with 2 boys who are still young: I distinctly remember when God led me to your blog. I was beyond grateful and still am. I was on the verge of quitting and felt like I was a failure. Really I just didn’t understand as a woman who only had a sister that men and boys are soooooo different in everything, especially the way they learn. Your wisdom is much appreciated!
Wow, thank you so much for your kind words. They mean so much to me! I’m grateful that God has given me this ministry over the years and has allowed me to build into the lives of other women.
Hi Michelle,
I really appreciate you and your blog and all that you share.
Thank you for opening up your world and your family and sharing your journey and wisdom with all of us.
On a different note I have been exploring your blog posts recently trying to find one I thought you had written about high school Astronomy curriculum, would that be right?
What are the different science topics your boys studied in high school?
Thank you and many blessings to you.
Thanks so much, Fiona. You and others like you are the reason I’ve continued doing this all these years. Big hugs from Michigan!
I haven’t actually written a blog post about Astronomy – but you may be thinking about this post. https://www.homeschool-your-boys.com/successful-homeschools/
When my son studied astronomy, we used this curriculum by Answers in Genesis: https://answersingenesis.org/store/product/survey-astronomy/
I loved that it was taught from a Creation worldview – something that isn’t usually the case with Astronomy resources. I hope that helps!!!
Fantastic, thank you Michelle.
I think that was the post I was thinking of too.
Funnily enough, the Astronomy curriculum is one I have been looking at on Christianbook.com so I think that’s the one we’ll go for.
I am very inspired by the post of your holiday and how it turned into Space exploration, I will have a good look at all the links too.
Thank you!
Oh, awesome. I’m glad Christianbook.com carries it. I hope you guys enjoy it. We love everything from Answers in Genesis and we’ve been to their Creation Museum a couple of times as well. Good solid Biblical truth. 🙂
I hope your family is staying healthy and safe with all of the craziness going on. Big virtual hugs from Michigan!