The price of education

In America, is there a price on education? My first thought would be to think of college- of course there is a PRICE- there's a very big price to attend college! But more simply than that, do we have restrictions on education? I'm sure there are more categories than I can think of at the moment, but how about that we are 'allowed' to homeschool our children? What about that we can pick up our bibles & 'religious' education materials and learn about God anytime we choose? We can virtually have & read any book, anytime, anywhere. If we don't have the resources to purchase the books, we have libraries full of them just waiting for us to walk through the doors and read them.

What about the freedom to educate ourselves on any subject we desire? There are no restrictions on what we learn and teach our children. We may encounter nay-sayers and deal with the occasional "you're crazy" comment, but we aren't prohibited by anyone or anything other than our consciences (or leading of the Holy Spirit).

Does education impart wisdom? How do we know what materials to read that will guide us in the 'right direction?' What materials actually help us and don't clutter our minds with useless information? What materials actually make you feel smarter? Are we good stewards of this privilege?
These are just a few of the resources we've been looking at and learning from this past year regarding the adoptions. Trying to strike a balance between what is required of us by different 'agencies' and what we feel led to learn- that's the tricky part. There is the green binder...the one that's been with me since the beginning...the one that holds every piece of paper pertaining to the adoptions. This binder holds records of donations (for personal and tax purposes), encouraging notes from friends & those we don't even know. It holds many, many important forms and documents relating to the legality of the process. The green binder also holds many examples of families that have gone before us, their stories of adjustment & the responses of their Liberian children.

The white binder holds all the 'love letters' that have been sent to us from the children. I've categorized them all by child and by date (including every single envelope). This is the binder I go to when I'm feeling lonely for them or overwhelmed by the length of the process. This binder alone sets things into perspective for me. The love and adoration I feel just feeling and seeing these pages is indescribable. These are my children- there is nothing I wouldn't do or endure for them.
The smaller, single binders with their names are for journaling. These binders I will record the big and little details that they go through during this next year. All the adjustments, all the joys as well as the sorrows. They will be the record of the past meeting the future...

This is the bible I have been using for the last 5 years- the most influential years of my life thus far. We probably have 5-6 different translations in this house, but this is the book I keep coming back to. This translation God has used to speak VOLUMES to me... For me, if I stay focused- this is THE book we need to base our entire lives on. The other books are fillers, but to discern the important things- this book is the dictionary!

Today I am grateful for the gift of education. Enough said.