This summer I spent about 3 weeks preparing for our upcoming year. I had almost half of our year planned out and I was very satisfied at what I had accomplished. It was all nicely laid out in my freshly bought planner and organized by weeks in a special bin I bought just for the occasion. All I needed to start was my daughter, who was on vacation with my parents. I am a planner so this made me one very happy mommy.

We hadn’t done our testing for the year yet and that was scheduled one week before we were to officially start our school year. That testing changed everything for us in ways that I wasn’t really prepared for. I learned that all my hard work of planning out our year would have to be set aside to work on some issues that I didn’t realize were needing some attention. I had to come to the sad realization that all my planning was going to have wait. It was a hard thing to have to set aside, but I took a deep breath and started down a new path.

One of the beautiful things that I love so much about homeschooling, is the simple fact that you can so easily change gears if needed, and that is exactly what we needed to do. I have to admit that I was sad to see all that hard work of planning just sitting there, but it was more important to help my daughter in the areas where she needed it.

And I had to realize that this was no surprise to God at all. He knew exactly where my daughter was and what she was going to need this year. He is the one who called us to homeschool and has both of us in the center of His hand. I have to trust that He will guide our every step as we walk down an unexpected path this year. A path I wasn’t prepared for, but one He clearly was not surprised of in the least.

The verse from Jeremiah came to mind as I put my well prepared bin up in the closet for future use; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) I am thankful that we have the freedom to pause our plans and to be able to focus on the present and where we need to go this year. And although it may not look the way I had planned it out, God knows what the future looks like in our school, and He will guide our every step on this unexpected path.

Heather Preckel homeschools her only child and has just started her third year. She feels God has called her to homeschool not just for her daughter; but for what He has to teach her through it as well. Each day is a new opportunity to grow closer to Him and to each other in this journey. She resides in Western NC with her husband of 16 years, her 10 year old daughter and 2 dogs. She loves scrapbooking, photography and reading. She blogs about her everyday life, homeschooling, scrapbooking and her faith at Sweet Simplicity.