Long before I knew that the Bible contains many names for God that describe the various aspects of His personality, God revealed himself to me as El Shaddai—the All Sufficient One. That encounter changed my life.
In 1975 Alexandra, my oldest child, was approaching her fifth birthday. At that time John made an appointment to tour a Christian school in El Paso and reserve a spot for her so that she could be enrolled in the first grade the following year. The night before my husband’s scheduled tour, however, I had a dream that changed everything. In my dream God spoke to me, “Do not send the child to school lest she be corrupted. My wisdom is sufficient.”
When I awoke, I was very disturbed. Shortly after her birth my husband and I had decided to send Alexandra to this excellent Christian school. As we had other children, we were equally certain that they would also attend the school; we had never considered doing anything else. Now, the night before that plan was to be set into motion, I had a dream that threatened to spoil everything.
I told John about the dream, and we agreed that he should cancel his appointment. We began praying about our situation and asking God for guidance. I found the entire dream puzzling, but the part that was most difficult for me to understand was what God meant by, “My wisdom is sufficient.”
After spending several weeks in prayer, we decided that I would teach the children at home. I was very frustrated because in 1975 homeschooling as we know it did not exist. There were no homeschool support groups and no other homeschoolers that I could locate. In fact, I did not meet another homeschooler for eight years after I began teaching my children. At that time the idea of a mother teaching her children at home was considered ludicrous.
Nevertheless, in 2000 my youngest child received his Master of Arts in the humanities through the independent study program with California State University at Dominguez Hills. My ten children had not only earned their master’s degrees through homeschooling, they had earned them at age sixteen.
Twenty-five years as a homeschooling mom had taught me a lot. Perhaps, the most important lesson I learned during those years teaching my children, however, is that God really is sufficient to meet all of our needs.
For a young mother with no teaching experience and only a high school diploma to undertake the task of educating her children from first grade through master’s degrees is ludicrous, but I was relying on God’s wisdom, not my own. Because of His guidance we were able to locate excellent schools at every grade level so that our program never lagged. Even though I gave birth to ten children in twelve years, I was able to keep both the school and the household running smoothly. I was able to study the subjects that were unfamiliar to me and learn them well enough so that I could teach them to my students in a simple straight-forward manner. Our family dealt with financial crises and serious illnesses, and, through it all, I was able to keep our school in tact and on schedule.
How did I do it? It’s simple. I am a very ordinary woman, but I serve a very extraordinary God, and He is more than sufficient to supply my needs. If I had been relying on my wisdom, I would never have been able to finish the race. In 1975 being obedient to God’s calling on my life required a step of faith on my part. Now I have experienced Him as the all sufficient one, and I know that He is sufficient in every circumstance.
If you have not yet met El Shaddai—the all sufficient one, I hope that you will take a step of faith and put your trust in Him. If you do, you will never be disappointed.
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