04/27/2026
April 20, 2026
About this time of year, high school seniors are anticipating graduation. That anticipation comes with gladness to be done with school, but trepidation as they forge ahead into the unknown. For a year or more, I had anticipated that moment. I knew it was time to leave home and get out on my own. Graduation was wonderful, but leaving my home and parents was difficult.
Somehow, with the encouragement of my parents, I graduated from high school and was able to enter Texas A&M University to become part of the Corps of Cadets. That first semester I barely made it through scholastics, Corps hazing, Bonfire cutting weekends, and getting the pants run off of me in outfit runs. I was skinny when I arrived, but by mid-semester, my dad didn’t recognize me. I think I was a runner-up for being the poster child for Anorexia in the Corps!
About six weeks before my graduation, I was talking with my mom on the phone. She made the statement, “…now that it looks like you are going to graduate…” I stopped her mid-sentence and said, “What? Was there any doubt?” Well, I guess their was! 😂
Nearly fifty years later I can look back on the experiences God has given me and I can rest assured in these three simple truths;
GOD NEVER WASTE OUR TIME. I was saved at 14 years old, but God had already woven in me, a life that I would fulfill serving Him. He had a plan for me all along. The verse from Jerrimiah 29:11 is hanging in my office on a large frame, but I like how “The Message” translation puts it: “I know what I am doing, I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you a future you hoped for.” – Jerrimiah 29:11. I can say without a quiver of doubt, that God had my life of military, industry, and ministry all planned out before I was woven in my mother’s womb.
GOD MEANS FOR YOU TO BE WHERE YOU ARE. All three of my careers had great difficulties. Robert Morgan wrote a book called, The Red Sea Rules and he reminds us that we can learn a great deal from the nation of Israel who were trapped next to the Red Sea. Robert says, “Realize that God means for you to be where you are.” God intended for the Israelites to be trapped at the Red Sea; it was all part of His plan. Graduates need to see that difficulties are all part of God’s plan and it’s not the end of your story!
STAND STILL AND WAIT ON GOD’S TIMING. In today’s world we take the McDonald’s approach – we want our hamburger instantly. But that’s not how God always works. Robert Morgan understood that timing and said, “Stay calm and confident, and give God time to work.” In the book of Exodus, Moses boldly proclaimed to the Israelites, “Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again.” – Exodus 14:13-14 Graduates, like all of us, need to be patient, trust in God, and have faith God will work all things out.
This past March, I met with a longtime friend from our years in ministry, but I hadn’t seen in several years. At only a few days old, he was thrown in a St. Petersburg trash dumpster, later found, grew up in a Russian orphanage, learned English, and today serves “The Harbor”, a Graduate Orphan Ministry that teaches life skills. He travels all over the USA doing fundraising for this organization and taking care of his wife and three boys. God had a plan for his life too, amongst unimaginable difficulties.
All of us have had some graduation experiences at some point, weather through High School or College, or graduating through a transition in your life from one season to the next. I appreciate your support so I can give children in Russia some encouragement of faith and lead them to a graduation experience into heaven!
In His Service,
Joh
