Homeschool Stories

Here is a story told by S.Michael Craven.

Finishing well in "defeat"- A Memorial Day Story

With the incredible growth of homeschooling, commensurate athletic programs have followed, providing homeschooled students an even richer educational experience. The Homeschool World Series, which began in 2000, boasts an impressive alumni. Many former players have gone on to play at the collegiate level and some have even gone on to play in the Majors. However, there is one young man in particular, who stands above them all: Ryan Adam Miller from Pearland, Texas, a suburb of Houston, is one of the many homeschool stories to be shared.

Ryan played in the 2004 Homeschool World Series with the Houston Eagles. Unlike many former players, Ryan was unable to continue his baseball career because on his eighteenth birthday he entered the United States Marine Corps. Despite the fact that Ryan was eligible to play another year of high school baseball, he felt a strong need to graduate early so he could enlist in the Marines like his father and grandfather before him.

On September 14, 2006, Lance Corporal Ryan Adam Miller, age 19, was killed in action while serving near Barwanah, Iraq. The brief memorial on the Homeschool World Series Web site reports that "Ryan and his squad were returning to base when an insurgent detonated an explosive device. Ryan was hit by shrapnel. He never cried out or said a word but continued to walk for another 5 meters, then collapsed, as he was already in the presence of the Lord." While I did not know this young man personally, every report indicates that he was a man of sincere faith, strong convictions, and gallant courage. (We should have him on the "Homeschool Hall of Fame or Hall of Homeschool Stories :)"

This Memorial Day I encourage us all to pay homage to those who have given all they have for the unmerited benefit of so many. To give honor to whom honor is due. To Ryan Miller and so many others, we owe a great debt, a debt we can only pay in remembrance. One of the ways we remember them is to preserve the ideals and values they fought to defend and pass them along to our children. Secondly, we must teach our children to remember and honor those who have given so much for their benefit.

In the same way we also remember the One who gave of himself for the unmerited benefit of so many. We cannot pay our debt to him—so instead we surrender the entirety of our being to him and cast ourselves upon his redeeming work and amazing grace. If we truly honor Christ as Lord, then we will pass his ideals and values on to our children and teach them to remember his great sacrifice for them. The responsibility for transmitting truth and virtue from one generation to the next lies in the hands of the passing generation. May we be faithful in both instances!

© 2010 by S. Michael Craven Permission granted for non-commercial use.

S. Michael Craven is the President of the Center for Christ & Culture and the author of Uncompromised Faith: Overcoming Our Culturalized Christianity (Navpress, 2009). Michael's ministry is dedicated to equipping the church to engage the culture with the redemptive mission of Christ. For more information on the Center for Christ & Culture and the teaching ministry of S. Michael Craven, visit: www.battlefortruth.org