I sat in the car, tapping the steering wheel as I waited for my wife and our daughter, Raegan. We had a lot of miles to cover, and we needed to get going.
It was the summer before Raegan’s senior year of high school. Time for her to pick a college. She knew she wanted to study social work and stay in the state—much to my wife’s and my relief—but that was about it. So we’d planned a three-day road trip to visit Raegan’s top choices: the University of Illinois Chicago, Northern Illinois University and Illinois State University.
College was a big decision, one that could determine the course of Raegan’s life. I wanted to be sure she made the right choice.
“Please, God,” I prayed, “give this worried dad a sign.” I let out a deep breath, then turned on the radio.
God has always spoken to me through music. In high school, there was a girl I had a huge crush on. Driving to school one morning, I prayed for a chance to date her. The next song on the radio was Garth Brooks’s “Unanswered Prayers,” which had the line “She wasn’t quite the angel that I remembered.”
Shortly after, I learned my dream girl wasn’t the person I thought she was. Later, when I was leaving home for the first time, bound for college, David Lee Murphy’s “The Road You Leave Behind” came on and reassured me.
Now I hoped the radio would give me an answer once again. I recognized the song that was playing—“Letting Go” by Suzy Bogguss. I listened carefully to the lyrics, about a mom whose daughter is leaving for college. The emotion resonated with me, but nothing I heard was about the choice of school. Maybe I was supposed to let go and let God.
By the time the song ended, Raegan and my wife were climbing into the car. Off we went.
Raegan liked the first two schools we visited, but her eyes lit up the moment we stepped onto the Illinois State University campus. She loved it! But is this where she’s meant to be? I kept wondering as our tour of the school continued.
Our group was led into an auditorium for a presentation. The first few slides were the usual—the majors and activities offered, the cost of room and board. Then came a slide about famous alumni. There was my answer: Singer-songwriter Suzy Bogguss had graduated from ISU.
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