Tragedy comes all too often as we grow older.
How do we move forward from tragedy? We know we have to but how?
Personal tragedy
Throughout the years of our homeschooling, we have had many life changing tragedies occur. We dealt with loss of jobs, loss of family members, loss of friends, illness, surgeries, business failures, and more. What did we do when tragedy came our way? We depended very much on our Lord and Savior for guidance and support. Sometimes, we would have to take a day or two to regroup and then sit down with the children to explain things the best we could. Together as a family we would then build a plan to work through each day. When things don’t go the way we expect them to, we can’t just quit. We have to move forward and depend on the Lord to strengthen and teach us what He has for us to learn. The neat thing is that God allows us to minister to others with what He has taught us. My go to is Philippians Chapter 4.
National tragedy
What do we do when tragic world events occur that are all over the media? First, we have to take in the news and process it ourselves. Then when the timing is right, we explain it to our children in a way that they will understand–depending on their age and maturity. I would much rather tell my children about things than for them to find out away from home by others. The tragedy on September 2001 occurred during our homeschool day. Of course, we stopped and reflected and prayed. We were devastated at the loss and destruction. My son had just been in NYC with his father on a business trip, and so had I several weeks before. The reality that Dad was supposed to be there that day but had to change his flight that morning for a meeting at the home office reminded us of God’s grace in our lives. Friends and family called our home asking where my husband was working that day. How thankful we all were that he was home! Oklahoma City was another tragedy that occurred during our homeschool day. I could list many many events. These events did not deter us from continuing our day to day homeschool endeavors. We incorporated the explanation of the events into our school work. We stepped away from our curriculum to focus on the situation and learned from the happenings around us.
Recovering from tragedy and moving forward
When we encounter tragedy, we usually don’t recover right away. We do our best to simply move forward and make the most of the situation. We lean on God to guide and comfort us and depend on Him for each step forward we take. As we slowly progress toward healing, we make memories and learn alongside our loved ones. For those of us who teach our children at home, these times can be useful learning experiences as well. Children need to quickly get back into the familiar routine, because it gives them stability. Families who pray together are also more successful in overcoming these challenges.
Don’t worry about getting behind. Every day is a learning adventure. Here is an earlier post on Homeschool is Behind.
How do you move forward from tragedy that comes your way?
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