A Parent’s Gift: Freedom of Vocation

By Megan Lacourrege

“I think I want to be an astronaut when I grow up,” my 6-year-old daughter once told me.

She’s at that age where her imagination is soaring with ideas of what kind of job she may like to have as an adult. I love to hear her thoughts, which change every day. But when she told me she wanted to be an astronaut, I really took a moment to pause and consider what that would be like. For her, thrilling. To me, scary.

I imagined my daughter in the extremes of space, completely reliant on computers to keep her safe and well. It certainly wouldn’t be comfortable to me. I would be tempted to worry for her a lot. There’s even a little temptation to discourage her.

But what if she were being called to do that? What if that was her vocation, in the secular sense?

I realized how crucial it is to not stand in the way of the path that God lays before her. And, if I believe that to be true of a job vocation, then how much more does it matter to be docile to a child’s “sacramental vocation”?

God has entrusted our kids to us for a time. Part of that responsibility seems to me to also accept that one day, they will leave to live their own lives.

As a mom, I’m trying to find ways to allow my children to grow, become more independent and listen to God’s voice daily. That way, when the time comes for them to spread their wings and fly, it’s not a shock or a threat to me.

It’s a blessing, watching the person who you’ve reared have the confidence to follow God with an open heart.

And, I think it is a precious gift to both the child and God for a parent to care more for the will of the father in their child’s life than their own sense of comfort.

Lord, continue to help me and all parents allow their children to discover and follow their vocation in freedom.