The goal is to end up where God wants us

It was a beautiful day for college graduation and I was all about it. After dabbling in higher education with two different universities and then serving his country for six years, I was leery that my oldest would stick it out after he got his acceptance letter from Hillsdale College.He’s definitely smart enough and when he puts his mind to it, he can do just about anything, but his attention span is short. He is interested and curious about a lot of things and nailing him down for an indefinite time span to accomplish a goal would require prayer and lots of it.I bought my first Hillsdale College Mom t-shirt when he was a freshman, but it wasn’t until the college hired him to work at their graduate campus in Washington D.C. that I bought my Hillsdale College Mom coffee mug, this meant it was really going to happen.Living 12 miles from the campus, I had driven by the East Lawn a thousand times. But on this day, it was more than grass and trees, this was where names would be read, degrees would be conferred and parents would snap photos, take video and cheer on their graduate.We found our son where he said he would be, working for the campus security. He assured me he would throw on his cap and gown, walk across the stage and then go back to his security job. He didn’t want to walk, but this was his Mother’s Day gift to me, so I was confident he would stick with the plan. However, his youngest brother was hanging out with him and that gave me an equally uneasy feeling.After we picked up our snacks, water and the program, we found our seats and waited. We listened to President Arnn give his speech, a Catholic Bishop was the headliner and then we were delighted with a speech from the senior class president. Jake never came to sit with us, so I began to get a little concerned. I brushed my doubt aside as the graduates began to receive their degrees. Jon Woodrow Hart was finally called and I gave him a proper ‘Whoop! Whoop!” as I videoed his 12 seconds of fame.The event concluded and we met back up to get some photos. JW and Jake were chuckling as they told me that Jake had almost walked across that stage. He had put JW’s cap and gown on and got in line, but then they spotted one of JW’s professors staring him down and they decided against their plan.They asked me if I would have been upset if they had done that. I told them I may have been disappointed, but I would have laughed about it. You see, there is no better feeling for a parent than when a child goes in the way God has planned for him. Each of us has our own way to go. Sometimes we head down a rabbit trail and some of us hang out in the bad part of town. But the goal is to end up where God wants us and that’s where we will be fulfilled and live a life that is on purpose for the Savior who gave His. That road is paved with the knee prints of moms who spend half their life in humility trying to figure out where they went wrong and the other half praising God for figuring it out for us.Melissa is a farmwife, mom and freelance writer residing on a dairy farm in southern Michigan. She is available for speaking engagements by contacting her at farm.writer@hotmail.com. Visit her blog at www.knolltopfarmwife.blogspot.com.