Some months are heavier than others
Hey Reader,
It’s finally June!….. but June is a complicated month for me. I don't say that to be mysterious or to make you worry. I say it because I think honesty between us matters more than performing a version of myself that has it all together.
LIFE
June holds some of the hardest memories of my life, and this year it holds something new on top of that: it's the first anniversary of all of it. It’s the first time I've had to come back around to these dates and feel them again from the other side.
Despite the hard moments and days, I'm going to write to you this month anyway. Not because I have to, but because sitting down to write to you and to think about your homeschool, your kids, your hard days, is actually one of the things that helps me process and move forward. So thank you for being here, even when you don't know you're helping. 🩷
If you're newer here, you may not know the story I'm referring to. Last August I shared my story in full, and it’s still over on my newsletter archive, and I'd love for you to read it when you have a moment if you want to learn about a huge piece of my life.
Myla's Story
It's the kind of thing that's easier to understand in full, rather than in pieces.
This particular week I look back on as the last week I was pregnant with Myla. I was working my church’s VBS and had no idea what the next few weeks and year following had in store for me. It’s hard to believe a year has passed already, but at the same time it feels like it’s been an eternity.
If you are in the same hazy grey area of fighting through hard memories and moments, I see you, and I’m right here with you. I’ve cried often the last few weeks, but I’ve not been alone. My family and friends have been there for me, but most importantly I have felt God’s hand too - even when I’m doing nothing but complain and rail at Him for the unfairness of all. But really though - life isn’t fair. And I may not see it, but i KNOW that God’s got a plan, and I’m doing my best to rest in that. 🩷
HOMESCHOOL + MATH
Now, let’s talk a little homeschool! Summer tends to be either a breath of relief a source of guilt for most homeschool moms, and sometimes it's both at the same time.
If you're wrapping up your school year right now, I want to offer you something simple: permission to let it be done. It doesn’t have to be perfect, fully caught up, or exactly where the scope and sequence said you'd be. You can be done. Finished. You can set it down!
What your child learned this year, even if it felt incomplete, isn’t nothing. And what you gave them: the time, the presence, the patience on the days it was hard…that isn’t nothing either. You don’t need to take a full two-three months off, but allow yourself some sort of break to relax, refocus, and come back rejuvenated!
If you want to do something math-related this summer, something light that keeps the concepts warm without turning June into school, I'll have a few ideas for you in the weeks ahead. But this week, just close the books if you haven't already. You both earned it!
GRACE
I’ve been doing a lot of reading and praying heading into June, and this verse is someting that has stuck out to me in several different things that I’ve read. I love how God does that!
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3 (ESV)
“He binds up their wounds.” In the same time that he is healing the brokenhearted, he is binding up their wounds. That means he doesn’t heal instantly. There’s not an immediate erasure of wounds, no promise of “disappearing” the scar (as my 4 year old likes to say!). It means that while we are wounded, while our scars are healing, He offers comfort and healing. We aren’t promised a life without scars. But while our physical and emotional scars will remain, healing and then fading over, he heals our soul.
If you are in a hard place too, know that I am praying for you, crying out with you, and here to listen if you feel led to share. I love the opportunity to encourage and pray for others! Please reply and let me know how I can pray for you! 🩷
The best way to keep from focusing on ourselves is to pray for others. 🙏🏻
He’s with you in the mountaintops AND the valleys.
See you soon!
- Mrs. Holman
