Hi, I am Merrill Walker. I was born and raised in the small town of Dalton, Georgia. My amazing parents, Robin and Bryan Walker, have given me nineteen great years of life. I share my parents’ love with my two older sisters and my younger brother. I grew up in a Christian household. My parents made sure we didn’t miss church a single Sunday. Knowing God’s word at an early age taught me to love and cherish people in life. Being so young, I knew about God and his word, but did I actually understand? Did I have a relationship with him? As I got older I began to really question if I was a follower of Him. At the age seven, I asked the Lord to forgive me for all my sins, and I surrendered my life to him.
Growing up I was a little firecracker. I had an explosive personality; I loved Jesus, making new friends, sports, outdoors, singing (that’s over with), dancing, and acting. I was happy all the time….but when I was upset, it was best you weren’t anywhere around. On another note, school was not my strong point; I had some learning disabilities that really caused me to struggle, and later on we decided it was best for me to repeat a grade.
My parents were my rock; they provided me and my siblings with everything we needed and almost anything we wanted. They were always going above and beyond to make our life the best. When I hit third grade my parents lost almost everything due to some business issues, and we had to move houses, move schools, and our grocery supply was very limited. Throughout my childhood I witnessed many friends deal with their parents getting a divorce. I began to see my parents stressed and arguing a lot more. I didn’t want my family to separate. One thing my family did not lose was our FAITH. In fact, it made it stronger. My parents continued to rely on the Lord and put all their trust in Him…
Middle School can be a big change for a 12-year-old when you are finding your passions, gaining hormones, dealing with drama, and just really turning into a teen. I attended my church, Rock Bridge’s, youth group. March of my sixth-grade year, Rock Bridge Youth had a retreat called Disciple Now (D-Now). The weekend consists of staying the night over at a host home with all the girls in your small group (all the girls in 6th grade), having Large Group (four-ish sermons are taught, one each part of the day, worship led by an incredible band, games played, and prizes won), mission projects are completed throughout the city during that weekend, and just a lot of devotion and fun with your friends. For me, that weekend’s message opened my eyes, leading me to the decision to rededicate my life to Christ. I continued to go to church and all my youth group events throughout middle school.
When I got to high school, my friend group split up. It is normal seeing now we all weren’t interested in the same things. Slowly one by one they quit attending our small group. It was hard because that’s where at the end of the day we could talk and worship Jesus together. Soon by the end of my freshman year I was no longer attending my youth group anymore. I found myself busy and always coming up with excuses. Drifting farther and farther away from Gods word, I began acting out.
I was sixteen now with a brand new car given to me as a birthday gift from my parents. My parents became much stricter on me when I began to drive. Being sixteen I thought I had everything figured out (HA, isn’t that a joke?). Spring of 2015, I liked this guy… like I really liked this guy…..However, my mom did not approve. Thinking I had everything figured out I continued to have a relationship with this guy. It caused problems for my mom and me because I felt she was very controlling and I wanted to do what I wanted. Going through that stage finding out who your real friends are can really change a person if you aren’t turning to God for answers. I began to lie to my parents often, sneak out and do things I wouldn’t have normally done. Spring break that year I made a mistake, I embarrassed myself, and almost all my friends quit being my friend. Turning down the wrong path, I now had to make new friends, stayed grounded, and partied all the time.
I soon found two best friends I did everything with, and perfect timing because my 2015 summer was about to start. The guy I thought I was in love with ended things with me and then I really began to be wild. Long summer nights sneaking around caused more problems with my parents. Although I seemed to make it to church most Sundays, my heart just wasn’t there.
Probably as far as possible as I could be away from God starting my sophomore year, I became depressed. I got in fights with who I thought were my best friends, leaving me really no one. Not my parents, not my sisters-they were away at college, and I thought I was too cool to hang around my little brother. I began to attend youth that year because my brother now could go and I wanted to set a good example for him. At this time, I would see a slight glimpse of the light.
My only gateway was cheer season. I made friends with a senior on the cheer team that year and she ended up being my best friend. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse I got sick with mono, leaving me from school for about a week and a half and a month from cheerleading. I ended up returning a little too early back to cheer resulting in me tearing my spleen. So what I thought was me just not getting to compete for a month, now was keeping me out for almost the entire season. It was now time for the region championship, and just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, I got in a car accident. I was very thankful to not have gotten any major injuries other than a concussion, but yes I then was out for the season.
Later on that year I ended up getting in trouble. It really opened my eyes, showing me I need to grow up and make responsible decisions. I then started helping out in the nursery on Sunday mornings. I really went to church to understand God’s word. I started hanging out with girls in my grade, where we created a little group, and in a short amount of time became close. Although I was starting to clean up my ways, my mom and I still did not get along. I caused her a lot of stress and told her a bunch of lies within the past two years and it was going be hard to earn her trust back. So that summer of 2016 my grandmother and I headed on a road trip I needed to get away from my parents for a bit and they needed a little break from me. Not knowing really where we were headed, I was ecstatic because I had always wanted to go on a road trip out west. There was no better person to carry out this dream of mine with me, because my grandmother has traveled all over the world, met so many cool people, experienced a lot, and always learning each day more about God’s Word.
After getting back it showed me I need to grow up and be responsible. I would be graduating soon and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. My mom and I ended up becoming close and I really told her everything. Not only did it make her feel better but it made me feel better, I was following the Lord’s word. I finally met my best friend junior year, and she’s my best friend until this day. Not only was she a good friend, she was an even better person.
Then it was here… Senior year. Everything was great, really a high point in my life as I was starting to think about where I wanted to attend college next year. But the thought of me going back to my old ways scared me. That’s when one day, I was supposed to go take the ACT, and they wouldn’t let me take it because I couldn’t find my license. I already have learning struggles, and I don’t know where I want to even go, while everyone around me is getting accepted into college. They sent me home and I was so upset. I began to pray. That’s when God spoke to me and told me to look at The World Race Gap Year. I started to apply. While I was applying, prayer led me through the entire thing. I then got my deposit turned in that same day. It wasn’t but 3 days later I got a call saying I got accepted!! I then had to go through an interview process on the phone which was quite intimidating, but with God by my side I know I can do anything. This journey is going to change my life and I cannot wait! I pray that God brings me closer to Him and really uses me to serve His people.
*please please please help support me on my journey with any amount of donation. Thank you*
