Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, June 19, 2025.

In Week 25 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for a walk.

I used to be embarrassed to admit this: I didn’t graduate until 2019.

I came to Mississippi State as a Computer Engineering major in 1995.

I flunked out.

I stumbled and bumbled a lot. On top of that, life was lifeing.

But God.

He used my circumstances—and even my missteps—to lead me to the good works He prepared beforehand that I should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

He blessed me with the wonderful gift of my wife, then my boys. And I wanted to walk in a way that set the path of life before them—hoping to spare them from the way of death I was so painfully acquainted with.

By God's grace, I was able to earn six figures without a degree. I didn’t need a degree.

But I went back and finished anyway—not for me, but for them.

To show my children that when we aim, we finish. To show them the kind of conviction and patient perseverance required to thrive in life. And because I couldn’t require of them what I wasn’t willing to do myself.

So, I finished.

I finished so they would know they can finish—no matter how hard things get.

My eldest son started his college career during the Covid pandemic. It was rough sledding for a minute. It was tough. But he finished.

I don’t know if my finishing had anything to do with his.

But I do know this: God led me to walk in a way that didn’t give him any excuses.

Either way, his finishing filled my heart with joy. It was the hope of my efforts.

God turned my shame into a stage that my children could walk across.

I’m grateful.

#52WoG #finish