In late June of 2021, I had the opportunity to read a bedtime story to three of my grandchildren. The eldest grandson sat on my lap. He had asked me to read a Dr. Seuss classic, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

I started to read the book, and without any warning, I got totally choked up. Tears were streaming down my face. My grandson noticed it right away. I was comforted by his gentle little hand placed on my cheek. I had to stop reading for a few seconds. I caught my breath, and tried my best to continue.

It may have been these words that grabbed my heart and caused a flood of uncontrolled emotion:

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

I need you to understand that over the past six years, he and I have developed a close relationship. I have known him since day one. Here is what I was thinking as I was moved to tears at that moment.

My imagination flashed forward a dozen years, taking me unexpectedly to my grandson’s high school graduation. This book is often given to graduates as a gift. Perhaps he would receive it. It might be meaningful to him as he began his new adventure into adulthood. But I wasn’t thinking about him.

That night, as I held tight to this boy that I love so much. I was anticipating the grief that his mom and dad would feel at that moment, just as his grandparents grieved when their children left the nest. I will be 75 when he graduates. There is no guarantee that I will still be here to see him through. The uncertainty of what the future held for him overwhelmed me. I continued to finish reading this book.

A few days later, as I reflected on this event, it occurred to me that this well-intentioned message of adventure, freedom, responsibility, and hope for new graduates just might need to be told from a Christian perspective. I want my grandson, his brother and sister, and his cousins, regardless of whether I am there or not, to experience the greatest of adventures as they follow God’s leading.

Allow me to share several insights that I would want my grandchildren and other children of all ages to have. I want to give them a glimpse into the path of purpose they will have by discovering and living the Christian life: a journey of faith, characterized by God’s leading, wisdom, and abundance. These things are not true because I have experienced them. I have experienced them because they are true.

Discovering God’s leading

¹⁰ . . . even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.

In Psalm 139:10 we see David’s faith that God’s hand will guide him wherever he goes. God, speaking through David in Psalm 32:8 promises that He will teach us in the way we should go and watch over us.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

Knowing that God would lead me, I sought after Him every time I had to make a big decision, like choosing a college major, how to proceed in a dating relationship, or finding just the right job. I trust that my grandchildren will also seek God’s face first and look to Him for guidance when they need it.

Finding God’s wisdom

Wisdom is living out God’s truths; walking in His ways. In the context of suffering and the testing of our faith in Christ, James 1:5 promises that God will provide His wisdom to all who ask in faith. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

I can speak from experience on this. There was suffering in the form of persecution from the world that I faced as a Christian college student at a large public university. I encountered spiritual attacks from Satan that bombarded me on occasion and temptations from my flesh. I lost jobs and family members.

As I prayed for discernment on how to navigate these rough waters, I always received what I needed at the right time. When I chose to walk in the path of righteousness, I made good decisions. My hope for my grandchildren will be that they are able to confidently, consistently, and wisely walk with God.

Living the abundant life

Jesus gives an amazing promise in John 10:10. In the context of his teaching on the shepherd and His flock, Jesus explains that He is the faithful and loving shepherd who calls his sheep by name and leads them. The sheep follow him because they trust him. He will lay down his life for those sheep. Their enemies may try to steal, kill, and destroy, but he has come that they may have life more abundantly.

Since I became a Christian, I have experienced that abundant life. God has been my shepherd. I have sensed His presence. He has protected me. He has provided for me above and beyond all I could hope or expect. He provides the strength to overcome any obstacle or challenge from the enemy. The Lord has given me true freedom, joy, and peace. My hope and my prayers for my grandchildren is that they too, would experience this amazing abundant life for themselves.

Relating to God’s Son

In closing, let me reflect on the Apostle Paul’s prayer found in Ephesians 1:16-20. Listen as he describes his prayers for the church. This is an excellent model for fathers, and grandfathers, in praying daily for their kids.

¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

Paul starts with an acknowledgement of their faith in Jesus Christ. If they don’t have that, the rest of the prayer is useless. I have deliberately dedicated myself to praying for the salvation of my grandchildren.

Next, Paul writes that he never stops giving thanks for them. He asks God to give them His Spirit so that they can know Him better. He asks God to open the eyes of those he prays for and that they will know the hope to which they were called, the riches of their inheritance, and God’s matchless power.

These are the things that I will pray over them. That my grandchildren can believe, know, and experience God’s truths thereby living out the abundant Christian life for themselves.

I encourage you to do the same.