It’s crazy to think that a single word can change the course of your life.
Growing up, I struggled with the idea of trust. I learned from a young age that people aren’t always able to keep their promises, so I became independent because I didn’t want to have to rely on anyone. Unfortunately, that natural tendency negatively affected my faith. Even though I committed my life to Christ through baptism at the age of 10, it wasn’t until high school that the Lord began to show me what it truly means to surrender.
My junior year of high school, the Lord confirmed that he was calling me to become a nurse. Around the same time, the Lord also placed Colorado Christian University on my heart. Overall, it seemed like my dream school. But there were a couple of issues from my point of view. First and foremost, CCU did not have a traditional, undergraduate nursing program. And second, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit to graduate college without student loan debt. However, because it was a private university and located over a thousand miles from my hometown, I knew that it was very unlikely. So I questioned why the Lord was calling me in seemingly opposite directions.
One morning during my senior year, I finally surrendered my plans to the Lord. I didn’t understand why he was calling me there, but I decided I would trust him and go. Later that same day, I found out that CCU had just announced that they were starting a traditional undergraduate nursing program. That was confirmation not only that God was calling me to the profession of nursing and to CCU, but also that the Lord saw a greater and complete picture.
Even when we can only see a small piece of the puzzle, the Lord’s plan is always greater than ours. That was one of my first experiences in learning to say “yes.” And that day of surrender changed the course of my life.