Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go and
when he is old he will not depart from it
A couple of weeks ago my husband and I were able to visit our daughter KayLynn. While visiting her we got to see what a day in her life consist of.
You see, KayLynn now lives in Gainesville, Georgia and her family lives in coldwater, Michigan. KayLynn moved to Gainesville in January of this year. She works for Adventures In Missions.
I would like to back up and give you a little insight into KayLynn’s life.
KayLynn was born January of 1988. She was pre-mature weighing only 5lbs1oz. She was only 4lbs 14oz when we took her home. From that very first day Kaylynn never left my side. She was very clingy and didn’t like to be around others much. She was very shy but picked up on everything that went on around her.
As she grew she had issues with anxiety and was socially awkward at times. Her father and I divorced when KayLynn was 7 years old. I then married my high school sweetheart. This transition wasn’t easy for KayLynn. Her anxiety grew worse and so did her dependency on me and her younger sister.
KayLynn’s senior year of high school was very stressful for me. I was so worried that she wouldn’t make it at college alone (without me). Who would get her up for her classes and who would cook for her and show her where she needed to be. All the things I had always done for her, what would happen to her? I also worried about her walk with God, since she had only known him a few short years. Well in 2006 KayLynn went off to WMU (thankfully only an hour away). I was proud and yet so scared for her. Wow! I had no idea at the time that God had her and there was no need for any worry. She lived in the dorms, found a church on campus and went to a bible study once a week. She grew much more than I could have ever expected. She had obstacles along the way, it wasn’t easy but with God she knew she would get through it.
In 2010 she decided to move home, get a job and take a year off school. She had not wanted to drive or even get a driver’s license. However, at 21 she finally got her license. She still would not drive. She would pay people gas money to take her back and forth to work every day. She didn’t mind as long as someone was doing it for her. That is how it was with all things in her life.
Then Easter of 2011 she told me she wanted to do the World Race, 11 countries in 11 months. In my mind I was screaming no way! No daughter of mine is going overseas or leaving this country. Then it came to me. I remembered a prophet telling KayLynn when she was 15 or 16 years old that she would teach in the mission fields one day. So from that moment on, I knew I couldn’t do anything but support her.
So in September 2011 KayLynn left for the World Race. I thought that KayLynn would be calling me to come get her if she even boarded the plan. KayLynn had never flown or traveled anywhere by herself. That day after she boarded the plane I had no choice but to give her fully to God, which was not an easy thing for me to do.
I knew that while KayLynn was overseas there would be limited contact, but she was comfortable with that so I had to be comfortable too. I truly had to trust the Lord for the first time in a big way. Anything involving my daughters I would handle and do everything in my power to make sure they were safe and had what they needed or wanted. My daughters were my life.
July 2012 KayLynn arrived home for the World Race. It was amazing. She had seen and done so much. She was truly a changed woman. My little girl had grown so much in those 11 months. She had been stretched spiritually and personally. She had become the woman God had created her to be in that season. I was so proud of her.
When we got home, another change began. KayLynn got a job at a pre-school but aside from that she stayed in her room. She was lost and had no idea what to do with herself. She missed the community with the other racers. She missed the time she spent with the people that they met during their ministry. She missed the freedom she felt in the Lord. Then she went to searchlight. When she returned home she mentioned she might want to move to Georgia and join CGA and work an internship for AIM. So we prayed and prepared for the next season in KayLynn’s life.
January 2013 KayLynn moved to Gainesville, Georgia and began to live in the season God had brought her to. He had been preparing her for this time all her life.
So recently my husband and I went to visit KayLynn. We had planned to spend a little time in Florida with the family and back to see what KayLynn’s life had become. We stayed with KayLynn at the house she shares with several other young women. This is the community she had longed for since being home from the race. We got to meet some of her friends and enjoy getting to know them during some planned outings. The next day she showed us around her town. I could see that she enjoyed the place she lived and spent time with the people she cares for. Next she took us to AIM headquarters. It was a beautiful area and building. As we walked through and saw others working and met them I was in awe. We were so proud of who KayLynn had become. She had grown so much. She walked around that office with confidence that I have never see in her before. She spoke of each department and how it worked. She told us of the importance of each to the overall goal of AIM. She introduced us to friends and co-workers and proved to us in that moment that she was where she needed to be. This was what God had for her. KayLynn had been stretched in many ways. Ways that I couldn’t have stretched her. I was only enabling and holding her back. She had learned how to cook and do things for herself. She was even driving! She loves her job and working with the young adults and teens to prepare for trips with AIM. She knows she is making a difference and that is all KayLynn has ever wanted to do in life.
When we left her to head home, I had all the confidence in the world that she was going to be great. All the credit goes to God. He knew she would come into His plan for her life. He never doubted it. Without taking glory from God, I would also like to say thank you to AIM for bringing out the true woman of God KayLynn is and always was.
I read something that Seth Barnes explains AIM’s objective; “Our objective at AIM is to thrust over –protected young people out into the world to formulate their own world view and collide with their destiny.” This was exactly what KayLynn (and I) needed. We are so proud of her and the woman she has become. Thank you God, for blessing us with our daughter, KayLynn.
Written by: Lisa Monroe (my mom)
