Homeschooling families used to be the guaranteed outcast, often enduring a never ending stream of probing questions and funny looks.

But the tide seems to be turning. Homeschooling is now “soaring” in popularity, as more options become available, more families seem to be taking the plunge.

ABC took a closer – and quite honestly refreshing – look at homeschooling. Good Morning America host and former NFL star Michael Strahan revealed he had homeschooled his children for a period of time, while ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza, a homeschooling mom, joined the segment to provide an in-depth look.

Normally, homeschooling is chastised and derided in the national discussion. The debunked myths such as homeschooled children will not be socialized properly continue to persist, making a glowing segment such as this one a welcome departure from the norm. This report featured an interview with Tim Tebow, who was homeschooled as a child. While they definitely covered some of the challenges homeschooling families face, it largely focused on the positives such as flexibility, closeness with family, and being able to add family values – such as religion – to your child’s education.

But now, people are seeking out homeschooling as an option for even more than just religious and value reasons. Some, as the report covers, believe they will be able to provide a better education for their child.

There are approximately 1.7 million families across the country who homeschool their children in one way, shape or form. Some choose to do it completely on their own while others use community based approaches such as the model Classical Conversations uses.

Tim Tebow spent his childhood working on the farm and being taught by his mother and father, telling ABC that his family had something more important in mind than purely academics.

“They wanted us to learn reading, writing and arithmetic, but it wasn’t No. 1. It wasn’t the most important thing… They wanted to instill love in our hearts, love for God, love for one another. They wanted us to be able to learn a work ethic, a dedication.”

“We were waking up, doing chores. Doing Bible study. And then we would break up into our individual studies. The whole process was always something I knew had a great purpose.”

Between 1999 and 2012, the percentage of homeschooled students has doubled.

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Abortion, Infidelity and Finding Jesus: The ‘Duck Dynasty’ Redemption Story You’ve Never Heard

Listen to “Duck Dynasty” star Missy Robertson speak with her sister-in-law, Lisa Robertson, about her intensely personal history — and her incredible story of overcoming the odds:

The Robertsons of “Duck Dynasty” fame are surely one of America’s most revered families.

Beloved for their traditional values and faithful demeanor, scores of adoring followers enjoy the family’s perspective on life, parenting and a slew of other contemporary issues.

But the Robertsons have long been clear that they, like everyone else, aren’t perfect, using their past experiences — both good and bad — to help encourage people who might be facing hardship or difficult life circumstances.

Missy Robertson recently sat down with her sister-in-law Lisa Robertson for the latest episode of “The Overcomers” podcast to have a raw and honest discussion about Lisa’s harrowing life story, personal failings and tough-to-navigate fractures within their family.

Up until now, Missy Robertson’s “Overcomers” podcast has focused on the stories of women who have overcome difficult life circumstances such as drug abuse and trafficking, but in the final two episodes of season one, her interviews turn to her own family members, with Robertson opening by explaining why she invited Lisa on her show.

“When I think of an overcomer, I think of my sister-in-law, Lisa,” she said.

And once Lisa started to explain the abuse she experienced as a child and the rocky road that followed, it became evident why Missy included her. Lisa explained that she started going down the wrong path in life after a series of disappointments in her teen years, including initial road bumps in her dating relationship with now-husband Al Robertson; as teens, the two lost contact.

“I started trying to find the love that I had lost from him through other guys, through sex, through drugs, alcohol — it didn’t matter,” she said. “I was hurting and I couldn’t find anything to numb the pain. I would wake up in places and didn’t really know how I got there.”

Then, at age 16, Lisa became pregnant — and had an abortion.

“[The father] wanted to have the baby but I had nobody to talk to,” she said, noting that her parents told her that the only option she had is “to have an abortion.” Looking back, she believes that they, like so many others, had been deceived about what abortion truly entails.

“I think they believed the lie, the lie that it’s not a baby, it’s a blob of tissue and until that baby is born it’s not really a life,” Lisa said. “Because I just don’t believe that my mom and dad would have wanted to snuff out a grandchild.”

She, too, was sold a number of lies about abortion and eventually went through with it, with doctors telling her that it would be akin to taking out something that she didn’t really need, and that she wasn’t really killing anything, because there was — according to them — no life in her womb.

Decades later, though, the pain persists.

“I know that I’m forgiven. God has healed my heart, but you never get rid of that regret,” she said. “It’s a choice that you made.”

After Lisa made that decision, her life spiraled out of control, as she explained that she would leave her house and wouldn’t come home for two or three days. Eventually, though, the partying subsided when she reconnected with Al Robertson and they married.

Despite their love for one another, their marriage eventually hit some roadblocks, which included an emotional affair that Lisa found herself in. The couple resolved the issue, but Alan made it clear that he would divorce his wife if anything like it ever happened again.

Sadly, just five years later, Lisa had a much more serious affair, one that rocked the Robertson family and threatened to end her marriage entirely.

“I had an affair, a full-blown affair and it lasted for 14 months,” she said, noting that living a double life was “hell.” “The guilt was so overwhelming.”

Missy, too, noted that it was a difficult time and that she and other family members could sense that something wasn’t quite right. She explained, “We were close as a family. We were like, ‘Lisa’s acting different.’”

Still, she never expected that it might be an affair. And, once the family learned what had happened, Missy said that it impacted her relationship with Jase.

“It affected mine and Jase’s relationship in a way that I didn’t expect, because when Lisa did that, then all women were bad, all women couldn’t be trusted,” she said. “I had to live through a lot of jealousy and questions with Jase.”

She continued, “It was almost devastating to the family … it hurt all of us so bad, because we felt duped.”

The Robertsons felt that Alan had every legal and biblical right to leave Lisa, but the couple decided to power through and seek healing. Lisa recalled hitting a breaking point where she pleaded with God, “If you’re really there I need you to help me, I need you to rescue me.

… I need to make the Lord of my life Jesus Christ.”

With time, healing did, indeed, unfold, Lisa changed and the family came back together in a beautiful story of restoration.

“Lisa, you’re a new person, I can honestly say that,” she said. “And I love you so much.”

Copyright © 2018 Faith Wire-All rights reserved.