Surrendering My Child’s Future to God

God is the Master Planner.

When you truly give Him the reins, don’t be surprised when He moves you out of a comfortable place because He has a better plan.

My husband and I prepared our speeches. We’d prayed for the right words. Now we prayed for the Holy Spirit’s presence and then stood before the board members, administration, teachers, and fellow parents. We were going to step on some toes, but knew God was our confidence.

As we left the packed board meeting that night, a mom ran up to me in the parking lot. She said, “I’ve always wanted to stand up and speak like that, but I heard that if you do, your child will never make the sports teams again. I wasn’t willing to risk that.”

My heart sank. Had we just ruined our daughter’s future at this school? We prayed in the car before driving home, asking God to remove fear and that His will would be done.

Accepted after an application and interview process, our daughter was a tuition student at this “prestigious” public school. But one week after the board meeting, we received the call. A school administrator said our daughter had done nothing wrong, but that her dad and I were not in alignment with the school. Therefore, we could not renew our daughter’s contract. When I pressed for clarification, the response was loud and insufficient.

God is our Guide

My husband and I felt the sting of injustice. We knew speaking up had caused this. We had stood for righteousness. Our emotions swirled, but we stopped and prayed. We asked God to give us guidance, discernment, and peace in the chaos.

The words we’d obediently spoken had shifted our carefully laid plans. Our plan was for her to graduate from this school as an athlete and honor student. Now we needed to trust that He had something better on the other side of our obedience.

We did not belong.

This trial was a reminder that this world is not our home. John 15:19 says, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Many of our schools are looking more and more like the world with anti-God curriculum. “Woe unto those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20a). As believers, we must decide if we are going to tolerate the world or take a stand and distance ourselves from it.

We sought God’s will for our family and brought our daughter home to finish high school. I know I am not the only mama who has felt the urgency to homeschool. I have watched many parents pull their children out of the world and into their home.

Well-meaning friends warned, “If you homeschool your children, they won’t fit in.” Amen! That is our goal! We are not called to fit in to this world, but to stand out.

God is our Provider

Moms, if you are feeling the tug, be encouraged. Fearful questions may come, but the Living God provides for every need. When I questioned my abilities, a few veteran homeschooling moms were there to answer questions and help me navigate a whole new journey.

Our daughter finished strong. We had the flexibility to travel. We picked her curriculum, taught her Bible class, and ate meals together. She gave up high school sports, but also the stress and chaos that permeated every school activity. I got my daughter back. God even gave us creative ideas to implement, so she graduated a year early and started college as a sophomore.

Nothing is impossible when you surrender your plans and ask God to realign your family with His will. Attending my weekly Moms in Prayer group strengthened my faith and reminded me to look to God first. As we grasp His character, we can trust that He has a plan, and it will be good.

Pray with me:

Dear Heavenly Father, You are so faithful. You guide us through good times and difficult ones and give us creative ideas to solve problems. More importantly, You call us to be set apart and holy. We thank you for Your Holy Spirit. He gives us exactly what we need as we face new challenges. Many moms are facing a crossroads for their children’s education. Father, show them You are a Waymaker, a daily guide, and a provider. They can do all things with You as their God. As James 1:5 states, if anyone lacks wisdom, let them ask of You. Give us wisdom today, Father. Bring us to our knees as we confess and repent of our sins, and lead us on Your narrow path, unafraid of the consequences of man. May we be so obedient that our trust in You outweighs the pull of worldly treasures. You alone are our Savior, and we surrender our plans and exchange them for Yours. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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Julie Graybill is a wife, mom, prayer warrior, and writer with a passion for making God famous! She has been involved in Moms in Prayer since her kids were in elementary school and absolutely loves being a group leader. She currently serves on the Moms in Prayer Georgia state team and as an area coordinator, encourages current leaders and trains new ones. Julie is the mother of two daughters and has been married for 23 years to her college sweetheart, Nathan. Please visit juliegraybill.com to connect with Julie and to read testimonies of God’s ability to bring good through ALL things.