Ever Feel Like a Freak?

You know what?  Sometimes I feel like a freak.  Different than everyone else around me.  Various reasons.  Mostly this is rooted in some pretty ugly self-pity. "Poor, poor, nobody else can understand me!" - something along those lines...yuk! Yeah, I  know, but I do indulge every now and then in a good pity party! But sometimes its for real, OK? Homeschooling for example - as the only home-educating family on both sides of our extended family - ever, we are ... freakish! Then, as a homeschooling family sending their teens out to PUBLIC high school, we are freaks within our own freakdom! My son, the first out to the local high school, he totally gets the freak feeling. It was actually overwhelming for him at times in this, his second year out of the home school. "I'm tired of being different than everybody else!" Yeesh - I remember that myself, but I was raised in public schools, so what he is experiencing must be excruciating! We have wondered if we're making the right choices in the education path that we've followed for our sons, due to these struggles. Is it right to make him go someplace where he's the "freak" every day? Is this too much to bear? Is it a necessary trial?  

It is a necessary trial! At some point, all of us must leave our soft, warm nests, and get out in the big uncomfortable world. I don't know about you, but I don't have a fuzzy-glow view of the state of society right now. Basically, it's evil.  YES, there are good people out there - points of light, if you will, but mostly, it's just evil. If you doubt, read the newspapers. Consult a school counselor. Ask a cop. We must bear the burden of being different, freaks, and we must teach our sons and daughters to be willing to do so as well when they're ready. Instead of swearing a green cloud under stress, they must be able to handle difficulties with determination. Instead of leering at a beautiful girl, they must be respectful in their gaze and ready to protect. Instead of stepping on others to get ahead, they must be willing to lend a helping hand. And so on.  

Freaks - We're trying to set a really freaky example and encourage them to leap into Freakhood themselves!  

Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.

1 Peter 2:11 (The Message)

(The photo above is the Middle Son, who knew how to take full advantage of the dress-up box, even in the heat of summer.)