When Winston Churchill was a little boy, few if any would have thought that he would grow up to play a role on the world stage. Young Winston did fine in subjects that interested him, but his other grades were terrible. His test-taking skills were abysmal. At one point, he was last in his class.

But as he got older, he kept learning. He read voraciously while serving in the army. He entered politics and eventually led the United Kingdom as Prime Minister during World War II.

A boy whom almost nobody believed in finally grew up. He took longer than most boys do, but he grew up in the end.

Don’t despair if your child is not at the place that other people–or maybe you yourself– think he should be right now. Winston Churchill didn’t have to be good at every “school” subject. In the end, his pursuit of his interests helped him become one of the most important people of the 20th century. Without Winston Churchill that century might have ended with Adolph Hitler ruling the world.

You just never know when God will place your child in just the right place at just the right time to do something amazing–maybe in a nation, maybe in a village, or maybe in a home.