Hey!! My name is Kayley (some know me as Kali) and I’m feeling pumped and thankful to be able to go on the World Race Gap Year in September of 2023! This year I was faced with the dreaded questions I avoided all of high school: What do you want to be when you grow up? Where are you going to college? What’s your plan? My plan? Umm…
When it came to thinking about God’s will for my life, I always thought that I wasn’t doing enough to live inside of God’s plan. I thought God’s will was a target or a dot that I had to hit exactly right or else I would be living outside of God’s will. In reality, that would be so much pressure and would give you such a poor view of God! Imagine if God said, “I need you to get a 3.93645 GPA, pass the SAT with an exact 1500, and apply for the musician’s scholarship at exactly 5:03 pm next Wednesday. If you don’t do this, you’re living outside of my will.” That would suck. Good news- I think that God’s will is more like a circle where he says, “Hey, you’re free to choose, and here are some boundaries because I know better and I love you.” Inside of this circle, he is allowing us to choose and flourish which I think is pretty cool and takes the pressure away of getting it perfect through your own actions. When it comes to plans for our life, sometimes we pray for this crazy “God, show up out of the sky and tell me” experience almost to cover and allow us to not be obedient to the things God has already laid out in the Bible. God actually does tell us what His will for us is: That we are filled, empowered, and directed by the Holy Spirit. Also, that we would be thankful in all circumstances, live in a way that is pleasing to God, not act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants us to do, etc. There are so many places in the Bible where he says, “This is my will:…” Now, unfortunately, there is nowhere in the Bible that says, “Kayley, you need to go on the World Race. Kayley, you need to go to this college.” But God already told me what his will for my life is and as I walk with him, my desires will align with his when I am filled with the Holy Spirit.
At the beginning of my senior year of high school, I didn’t feel excited about any career because there were too many options, and like the target or dot mindset, I didn’t want to get it wrong and become stuck in something I would hate. Instead of worrying about my future, I just filtered all the options through this thought, is this allowing me to love God more? That’s really all it took for me to sign up to go on the World Race. God placed the desire in my heart to serve others and grow closer to Him. When I found out about the Race, it just felt right and I started taking small steps towards committing. With each step, I would ask, “God, is this good? Will you open the door? If not, it’s okay.” But God did open every single door and has blessed me like crazy blowing my mind and making me fall in love with him more every single day. I am loving this journey already and I haven’t even left for the Race yet! But he really is using this in my life already and I’m excited for the ways he will use it in the lives of others.
Some things about mwah: I live in Colorado which is a hotspot for hiking and snowboarding- two things I love. I also love community and really getting to know people. I have a split family and so part of my life is spent in the country riding horses and getting muddy-really just enjoying the farm life. Part 2 of life is in the city where I love going to my church, the gym, exploring, etc. Wherever I am and with whichever family, you can always find me playing guitar, drinking some matcha or coffee, taking too many pictures, and staying in God’s word.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading haha. I will definitely be posting more about what God does in my heart through this whole process as well as fundraising updates and prayer requests. Again, thank you for reading, and welcome to my blog!
Love,
Kayley 🙂
