By Katie Ginn
Fun fact: Mississippi’s oldest institution of higher learning (Mississippi Christian University, aka MC, formerly Mississippi College) is a school dedicated to Christ. Praise God! In addition, the Jackson metro offers a plethora of K-12 Christian schools. Mississippi is blessed.
But let’s be real: Private, Christian education – whether at school or at home – is a luxury not everyone can afford. I’m a product of public schools, and I like to think I turned out okay. That’s largely because of my parents.
Below are just a few important things my folks taught me, outside the classroom, that had zero to do with how or where I received my formal education. Parents, you can teach your child these same things, whether you’re putting your kid on a bus in the morning, driving them to an independent Christian school, or hauling out the textbooks yourself:
- Books are awesome. My mom read to me regularly from the time I was a baby. As a toddler, I’d grab a book, then shuffle backward across the floor until my diapered butt could plop down into Mom’s lap. I memorized my board books before I could actually read the words. Today, I host a podcast about books and literature (see bottom of column). That didn’t start at school. It started with my mom.
- Church should be a regular habit. My parents were taking me to church long before I started school, and continued till I was old enough to drive myself. Today, church is more than a habit. It’s where Stephen and I find Christian community, conviction, and encouragement.
- Being a Christian is fun. I remember Dad saying this verbatim – more than once – probably when he was trying to enforce some kind of boundary. Obviously, there are times when being a Christian is anything but “fun” (see the gospels, the book of Acts, the persecuted church). But I still remember this statement nearly 30 years later, and I still believe the root of it: Jesus brings joy.
- Marriage is for life. My folks don’t really preach on this. They’ve just lived it. They celebrated 45 years of marriage on June 6, otherwise known as D-Day; I’ll refrain from using any military metaphors here. No marriage is perfect, but theirs has been an excellent model for me.
- Love doesn’t involve guilt trips. I can count on one hand the number of times my parents have used guilt as a weapon against me. Maybe one finger. They just don’t do it. This has helped reinforce the gospel in my heart: Instead of being tossed about with shame every time I make a mistake, I’m grounded in the love of God – which I first saw in my parents.
- Don’t overthink it. I’m still learning this one! But Mom and Dad have been two of its biggest proponents and examples. Mom is the one who first suggested I see a Christian counselor for my obsessive spiritual questions, and that counselor helped me understand and deal with OCD.
- God can be trusted when life sucks. When Dad’s mom died young from complications of diabetes, he told me she was with the angels. He cried at the funeral. He kept attending church, as far as I remember. He never said anything that would lead me to believe he didn’t trust God, even though he surely didn’t understand His plan. This subtle lesson has become part of who I am: God might allow things to hit the fan, but He’ll redeem it, and He’s with us in it.
Again, my parents taught me all this while I attended public schools. If you can afford something different, that’s awesome! But you’re not a bad parent if you can’t or choose not to.
Your child needs you more than they need a Certain Type of Education. Train them up in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6), and trust God with the rest.
In this issue
We’ve got another new column! In Beyond the Bell, a school guidance counselor (or, this month, a mental health counselor who works with students) will share godly insights on how to guide your child through their school years.
This month on ‘Oh My Word with Katie’
If you like World War II novels, be sure to check out my August 6 episode with author Dana VanderLugt, whose book “Enemies in the Orchard” is based on her own family’s real WWII history. Plus, on August 20, Dana and I discuss how God shows up in the children’s classic “Charlotte’s Web.”
