Obstacles are Inevitable
Obstacles are inevitable, but dreams are worth the sacrifices one must make to achieve them. So don’t stop and look down, keep looking forward and keep climbing! The top will be more magnificent than you can ever imagine!
During my first year of homeschooling, I knew I needed a more simplified approach to teaching multiple children at the same time, and I knew that I needed to incorporate more hands-on learning to engage and more fully reach all levels of learning found in my home. As I began creating activities and crafts that would correspond with lessons and books we were working through, my good friend Anna asked me to box what I was doing up and share it with her.
That simple comment made an impression on me that I couldn’t shake. The desire to help other moms not feel the way I had felt in the first few months of homeschooling had become something that nagged at my mind daily. It wasn’t long before I had an idea that I thought would benefit so many homeschooling families. As the idea took shape from a business plan to a product, and then a formal business, I was struck with excitement, wonder, and obstacles. Lots of obstacles.
Growing a business that was spreading like wildfire was more challenging than I had anticipated. I had attended school for child development and business management, and owned my own preschool for years, before we started our family. But those experiences, however helpful, would not prepare me for the obstacles coming from the growth my business was experiencing. There were many days I would just want to give up and call it quits, and still are today!
But I couldn’t quit, and I can’t quit!
There are so many emails that I receive from moms out there, who are just like me, that have been blessed with a newfound enjoyment and freedom in teaching their children because of what I have created. There is an ease and fun in learning again, just as I had experienced after my first few months of homeschooling. My heart is full of gratitude for so many wonderful families out there who cheer me on to keep going.
I have always had a few solid cheerleaders in my corner, that have always seen the good that would come from what I was creating as a business. They saw the potential help and motivation that my product could bring to so many homeschooling families. It’s like they saw a potential greater than I could ever imagine as a reality.
Tonight, the movie October Sky was playing in our home. That movie was a very favorite of my father-in-law, Paul. As the evening ended tonight, I was reminded of him a lot and could hear him telling me to keep going! He was a big fan of what I was doing, always cheering me on. Always telling me to push through the obstacles and keep moving forward. Before he passed, he made me promise I would write about my life, write about my life to help inspire, motivate, and touch others.
I was never sure how I would come about doing this, but over the past few weeks, I cannot shake this feeling to reach out to someone out there, who needs a pat on the back, an “it’s going to be okay”, a “keep moving forward”, and an “I understand what you are going through”.
Life is hard! Being a mother is hard! Health diagnoses are hard! Homeschooling is hard! Running a business is hard! But together we can cheer each other on and keep moving forward, forward past the inevitable obstacles that await us.
Obstacles are inevitable, but dreams are worth the sacrifices one must make to achieve them.
Really, what is a dream without the work, struggle, and fight to make it a reality. Know that in your hardest moments in life, that you got this! You have thousands of us cheering you on right there with you! You are stronger than the obstacles you are facing, you just may not realize it yet!
Keep on climbing! The magnificent beauty that awaits you at the top will be so worth the obstacles in the way!
