Summer 2017

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In the almost four years since our special-needs daughter,
Johanna, graduated from our homeschool, the “Towering
Spruce Academy,” we have found that the learning never
ends. When my husband and I decided to take her out of public
school and bring her home to teach, I was overwhelmed with
the responsibility. I questioned my
ability to teach her, wondered how
to find the right curriculum for her
needs, was anxious about ensur-
ing that I could still get her all the
right therapies. In short, I wondered
how I could “fix” her. I was focused
on myself, my abilities, this new
“job” I had taken on, forgetting that
I was never alone because I had my
husband’s support and, most im-
portantly, I had God to lean on too.
I remember being frustrated by
all the homeschooling articles I read
that advised me to pray, pray some
more, and then, when I was done, to
pray again. I thought to myself that I
really needed more practical advice
than to just pray. Being told to pray made me feel more hope-
less, as in“how am I ever going to be able to do this?!?”Hopeless!
Now I can say that the most practical advice I can give a new
homeschooling mom, especially one with a special-needs child,
is to pray and ask for God’s guidance on your journey.
In addition to prayer, one of the most helpful things my hus-
band and I did was to have Johanna evaluated by a professional.
For us, it was a specia-education teacher who was also a close
friend. She helped us find our starting point. With her guidance,
I was able to find books at my daughter’s level and we started
there, working through word lists, learning signs to go with
them, working at Johanna’s pace until we reached a plateau.
Then we would stop and move on to something different.
We worked hard at math for many years. Unfortunately, math
is something that my daughter may never understand. But she
does know what order numbers come in and has a basic under-
standing of the value of money. For the rest of Johanna’s life, we
will be working on sign vocabulary, reading, communication,
and life skills. We may not have
made the advances her “normal”
peers did in school each year, but
our daughter is learning, is happy,
and loves to hang out with other
girls her age. Participating in the
2013 NICHE Graduation was one
of the highlights of her life. These
days the friends that she graduated
with are finishing up their college
degrees and Johanna likes to stay
up late – because that’s what they
do too. When she is “grown up,” she
wants to be an artist.
Looking back, it is clear to me
that I was trying to make Johanna
into what I thought all of her peers
would be. Now, I realize, that God
had a different plan for our daugh-
ter, and that through much prayer, he has directed our steps as
my husband and I worked together to raise and teach her. Jo-
hanna has not met many of the goals I set for her in those early
days, but by working together, we have become very close. We
laugh, we read, we craft, we work on life skills, we exercise, we do
everything together. Johanna will always require my care, but I
can see that God has prepared me for this task. I cannot imagine
a future that does not include Johanna right by my side. How-
ever, I have learned that whatever the future holds, it is in God’s
hand, and he will prepare the way for whatever comes.
Kim Zuber and her husband have been married 29 years. They have two amazing adult
Kim’s free time, she enjoys photography, crafts, and cooking.
“Pray” is Practical Advice
BY KIM ZUBER
Kim & Johanna Zuber
PHOTO BY HANNAH ELISE PHOTOGRAPHY
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to you. But when you ask,
you must believe and not doubt, because the
one who doubts is like a wave of the sea,
blown and tossed by the wind.
James 1:5-6