Unrealistic Standards

This was in a post that someone wrote on one of my lists. Looks like I am not the only one who has writing on my walls of this nature. This is something a lot of homeschool mothers can resonate with, especially the part about having trouble meeting this standard.

"I think most women have trouble meeting the
standards they set for themselves. (Aren't we supposed to have perfectly
clean, organized ,well decorated homes? In our beautiful kitchens we
should cook delicious, well balanced meals that everyone loves. Our meals
are always from scratch using the organic produce we grew. We must
maintain a model's figure and never age. With our never ending energy we
have interesting hobbies and do lots of volunteer work. We meet all our
children's and husband's needs and wants. The children must be perfect or
it is our fault. If we homeschool too, than we have well planned
lessons, just right for each child's learning style. We go on wonderful
field trips, our homes are filled with prizes our kids won in spelling
bees and science fairs. The kids get top scores on standardized tests
and will graduate 3 years early. Those of us with more than 4 children
must also have a talented family singing group."

Feel tired yet?

Here's something I was thinking about the other day: Families have flavors. I was thinking in particular of some homes where the parents and children are gifted musicians. The parents have a love of music, have cultivated it in themselves, and provided an atmosphere for their children to cultivate it as well. Other parents I have known are visual artists who make a variety of visual arts from illustrated books to paintings, sculpture, and other forms of two and three dimensions.

Then there are the families that have the "farm" flavor. The kids are in 4H, they raise all kinds of animals, produce their own eggs and meat, and are likely to know a lot about growing gardens. A friend and her family tend to excel in writing. Another family is raising a bunch of mechanics and computer nerds. Our family is probably known for its "health" flavor because my husband and I are interested in good health, and in helping others attain it.

The point about all these flavors is that each of these examples are families that specialize in something. They have their own unique culture which, by logical necessity means that they don't have the other cultures mentioned. Nobody can do it all, and they shouldn't feel guilty for that.

The analogy used in Scripture is that we are all parts of the Body of Christ and that not everyone is a hand or foot or other body part. God has distributed people in His Body as He has seen fit. This is true in the spiritual realm and it is mirrored in the physical realm as well. We aren't all meant to be neurosurgeons, lawyers, or high powered executives. God fearing hairdressers, automechanics, and janitors are as pleasing to God as those in more prominent callings. Our goal as parents should not be to get our children into as prestigious a calling as we can, in order to elevate our position in the world for vainglory's sake. Rather it is to help our children excel in their calling no matter how exalted or lowly it may be, for the sake of the Lord.