Help, Lord! As parents, we have all cried out these words at one time or another. As our child's high school years approach, the outcry may increase all the more. You may feel under-qualified to teach higher level subject material. The fear of "messing up" your child's transcripts so that he no longer is in the running for a much-needed scholarship may be suffocating. The realization that even with maturing your child just does not fit into that cookie-cutter pattern of the "typical" high school student may be hitting you like a two by four.

The antidote for these fears can be found through prayer and the lovingly realistic testimonies provided in Help, Lord, I'm Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling my High Schooler! This e-book, which can be purchased through The Old Schoolhouse Store, is a compilation of the stories of how 13 families homeschooled their high schoolers. Each story is different. Would you expect any less as we all marvel at how uniquely designed by God each of our children are? Why is it that as parents we can at one moment be amazed at how uniquely and beautifully God has created our children but then lament their "inability" to fit into the world's definition of a successful high school student.

These personal accounts send forth the underlying message that God does not expect perfection along the journey but rather a joy and faithfulness in parenting the child that He has divinely provided to us. The child may have learning difficulties, be academically brilliant, or both at the same time. Your child may have unique interests that cry for a very different high school experience if you are to train them up in line with the way God has uniquely wired him or her.

A second theme that I found reinforced time after time was the families' concern first for character development rather than the world's emphasis on academic achievement. It reminded me that in being my child's parent first and his teacher second, I must primarily desire for each of my children to grow into a Godly young man or woman. This does not just happen. We must intentionally pursue this. As we structure our child's high school experience, we are challenged at a fundamental level to completely trust God that as we make choices first for Godly character, He will provide for the academic achievement as well.

As a mother of four whose oldest is about to embark on her high school journey, I often struggle with trying to create and plan for that "perfect" high school experience--perfect choice of curriculum and sequence of classes, the perfect number of extracurricular activities and community service hours, the perfect GPA with the perfect blend of AP courses, electives, and CLEP credits, and on and on. In the end, I am reminded that my children belong to God. Their Heavenly Father has already paved the way and laid out a plan for them. He just asks that I parent the children He has entrusted to me, prayerfully seek His Counsel, and then trust Him to work everything together for good. I was wonderfully reminded of all of these truths in Help, Lord, I am Getting Ready to Homeschool my High Schooler!