mid-august to a homeschool mom

Mid-August brings to a homeschool mama - the shadows of a new school year approaching. 
i begin to contemplate those plans in broad strokes set out in spring - and gather the tools i'll need to get our one room school house rockin' again. 
For me... this year... Mid-August brings just a touch of anxiety... for the struggling one, for the books that are not yet arrived, for the highschooler who is taking a new approach to her education this year and is registered 'online'. 
And yet... for some reason... the Still Small Voice has not let me forget, in this mid-August season what i have done right.  The small bit of 'right' keeps coming back to me - in various shapes and forms - (which is often how He speaks to me)...
i have failed - often - as a homeschool mom.  i have over simplified, and then lacked the follow through to even do justice to our simplified plans.  i have overlooked shortcomings, and lacked the energy to really teach - in some teachable moments.  i have chosen badly for certain subjects, for certain children - and failed to notice lagging struggles.  This paragraph could go on... and on... and on... as my failings often seem so daunting and insurmountable in this incredible homeschooling journey - but instead, i'll tell you what i hear in the "whisper in the wind"...
The other morning, we were sitting at the couch - and as each tousled head made it's way from sleep to wake - it joined us in the living room...
Tiny Ephraim - only 18 months old, seeing we were all gathered, went to the shelf where our bibles are kept, and one by one, he brought them to us. 
Our morning routine - familiar even to my tiniest child. 
This matters...
We were reading in Exodus the other day, and after hearing again, and again in reference to the character of our God, the word, "compassionate" - we stopped mid-verse and looked it up in the dictionary. 
Mollen spoke with shining eyes from the corner, "Well, that just makes me want to love Him more..."
This matters...
We've used books and plans - devotionals and curriculum's - for our bible time over the years; finally simplifying to just plain reading the Word of God  - and most recently to each person having their own bible to follow along as we plod through - sometimes with a 7 or a 9 year old stumbling over difficult words and phrases.  It hasn't been an organized, perfect study - but it has been a consistent part of our lives.
This matters...
& it's small... my offering of consistency and truth - in bringing my children to find the daily bread...
But when i measure it against my failings... my failings seem diminished somehow, in comparison. 
& so in my mid-August musings - i feel that old struggle between anxiety and peace - between fear and courage - between lies and truth... But i know one thing that this school year will hold - and that one piece over the years has become my favourite part of the puzzle -
The thing that simply because it is done, is done 'right'...
This matters.