Idols and Effigies

Originally published on Heart of the Matter Online 7/31/08

Everybody wants to be accepted. We try to find our niche, the place where we fit. Yet even when we’ve found our comfortable spot, the struggle with insecurity still rages.

It growls at me when I think, “I don’t have any nice clothes to wear,” or “My house needs a makeover.” Then I hear a roar, “You are inadequate to teach your children. What if they rebel? What will people say then? No one understands you anyway.”

In our society, it is sometimes hard to silence the noise. We are surrounded on every side by images and expectations. There are pictures from idol makers, who say what we should look like, on television, the internet, and even the check out aisle at the grocery store. If you are not young, beautiful, and smart your value diminishes. The expectations to be the perfect super model mom are unrealistic. My ideal is not to be in vogue, but to become a woman of righteousness.

Then add the whole issue of home schooling to the yelling. There aren’t many images in the media telling us what homeschool moms should look like, but there are plenty telling us what she does look like. Those negative stereotypes are of weary moms in frumpy clothes surrounded by piles of laundry, or horrifying images of insane mothers who killed their children. I fight against those stereotypes.

However, in my own mind, I have built an effigy of the perfectly organized, quietly patient, dynamically interesting, and stylishly groomed homeschool mom. I don’t know where this idea came from since I have yet to meet this lady; she is an idol of imagination.

To quiet the lies, I must replace them with truth. God’s plan is that I will be conformed to the image of Christ. It is not for me to decide if I’m worthy. Jesus already made that decision. He loves me weak as I am. The image He sets before me is a glimpse of His heart. Are my thoughts and intentions becoming more like His, or am I succumbing to the idols of the world?

The unseen is harder to deal with because it can’t be covered with make-up or cleaned with a vacuum. It is delicate work to be done by the Holy Spirit, and He is faithfully working even now to make me like the one I worship.

photo credit: stephmcg & Lori Greig

Renae teaches her ten-year-old son and two little girls at home. She has prepared lesson plans, enjoyed children's literature, and delighted in discovery with her children for five years. By studying Principle Approach philosophy, she realized what she always suspected: the Bible lies at the heart of all subjects. Find her reflections at Life Nurturing Education.