SUBMITTING TO HIS WILL

Haley Kelly

This past spring semester has been one crazy journey I never saw coming. In August I moved into my dorm room and began my college career at Dallas Baptist University. It was a new beginning for me. However, little did I know, this new beginning would come to an end sooner than I thought. After I took my last final in December, I packed my things and moved back home. And no, I’m not talking about moving back for Christmas break, I mean for good. You see, my parents both have bad credit so we weren’t able to get enough loans to pay for all of my tuition. I had a balance of little over 6,700 dollars left to pay. I was told by DBU’s Cashier’s Office that until my balance is completely paid off I couldn’t sign up for any classes in the spring. They also told me that they wouldn’t release my transcripts until it’s paid off. Therefore, I couldn’t transfer to a cheaper school. I was stuck.

           

At the time I had mixed emotions. Part of me was frustrated that I couldn’t go back to school and that I had to move back home. I knew God had been calling me to go to DBU, so why would He allow this to happen? I mean, Psalm 50:10 says that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, so why couldn’t He just sell some cattle and give me the money to pay for school? As strange as it may seem another part of me was excited about being able to trust God. In the midst of everything I still knew that He was in control.

           

On January 15, I wrote this down in my notes on my phone, “I don’t know what I’m doing nor where I’m going, but I know God has a plan. He is leading me with trusting hands. He has my best intentions at heart. He is for me and not against me. He has me right where He wants me. There is a purpose to this unknown journey.” Instead of staying frustrated and angry with God, I chose to trust Him. And boy let me tell ya… He proved how faithful He is!!

Only three days after writing that in my notes, I was talking to Nia- the coolest person ever- after service one Sunday. She told me that I should look into being an AVID Tutor (I’m sure most of you have heard of AVID at your school). From what she told me about it, it sounded like a pretty cool job. That night I went online and looked to see if they were hiring in Garland ISD. Sure enough they were so I filled out an application on their website. Not even 48 hours later I received a call from the AVID coordinator for GISD. When I came in for an interview that same day, I was hired on the spot! In February I started my new job as an AVID Tutor at South Garland and Garland high school. On top of this, only one day after I went in for an interview for AVID, I got an email saying I had received the summer job at a sports camp that I applied to. Obviously the Lord knew that AVID would end when school got out for the summer so He was like, “Oh here Haley, I got you covered for the summer too so that you can keep paying off your tuition!” Like how cool is the God we serve?! By the fall and only by God’s provision, I will have my tuition paid off and will be able to transfer to Collin College.

God has also given me wisdom on how to manage my finances. Because of this, as of the end of May I only have a little over 2,700 left to pay on my tuition. Yeah, you’re reading that correctly! Within three months God has enabled me to pay off 4,000 dollars on my tuition!! Can you say the Lord is faithful? He is Jehovah Jireh!!!

Read JOHN 13:7

So why did God take me through this detour in my journey? Maybe He wanted to confirm my call to teaching. Maybe He knew a job like AVID would look good on my résumé and help me get a teaching position in the future. Or maybe He just wanted me to trust Him more, and deepen my faith. Whatever His reason may be, I am so thankful that my plans of going to DBU in the spring were wrecked and that His plan prevailed! When God is doing things you don’t understand, be patient and trust in His greater plan! Allow Him to show you how faithful He really is!