Ever feel like your destined for something? Do you feel like the path that you’ve chosen is leading you to the pivotal moment? Did you know that there’s a God that lives within each of us? Did you know He’s the one primarily leading your path based upon your interests and desires?
Once upon a time and seven years ago, I was in a broken place and not in the best mentality. I was 19 and a sophomore in college. I was in the beginning years of the darkest time in my life and the time where I spent most of it drinking and partying my life away. It was during that time where I met a guy who was going on an 11-month mission’s trip around the world called the World Race. I was attracted to the light that lived within him and I fell in love with his spirit. I became interested in going only because he was going. It wasn’t for the right reasons and I was searching for something far beyond what was in front of me. I was heartbroken to find out that I wasn’t old enough to go on the World Race. Little did I know that the Lord used this experience to plant a seed within my heart.
The following years in college were spent doing the same thing of drinking, partying, working, school, repeat. I never dealt with what was going through my head and I would gravitate to anything that could make it stop temporarily. I knew who God was and I believed in Jesus but I never had a relationship with Him. I saw how joyful His followers were and knew the freedom they had but I decided it was easier to carry my baggage and not confront anything.
Shortly after college I moved back home to Charlotte and began to work as a freelance photographer. I wasn’t being responsible with my bills which caused tension amongst my family and I. One day, I was on the phone with my dad who was out with the inflight manager at the company he worked for. My dad handed the phone over to the inflight manager and I unexpectedly interviewed with him. Next thing you know I was interviewing to be a flight attendant, then I got the job, then went to training and then moved to a town in the middle of the desert in Nevada. It was there in that super small town that I began to deal with what was going through my head. After spending 16 months in the desert I wanted to be closer to home. I put my bid in to fly with two NHL teams that were in Raleigh and Nashville.
But that wasn’t God’s plan.
Unbeknownst to me, I get an email saying that the Chicago Blackhawks wanted to interview me. I got the job and then I made the move from Nevada to Chicago.
Then on December 24th, 2018, something incredible happened… I was in Chicago with my sister and brother-n-law at their friends’ house. They began to worship the Lord and pray. I was extremely tired that night but didn’t want to be rude and excuse myself to go to bed so I just sat and listened. Drifting in and out of sleepiness, I sat there with my eyes closed. Then all of the sudden, something happened that is rather difficult to explain. When I was sitting on the couch with my eyes closed, I heard a man’s voice in my right ear (no one was sitting to my right). The voice said, “It’s time.” Then at that exact moment I receive this image of myself slowly spinning on a carousel. As I’m spinning on this carousel, I see all of these images of important life events dating back to as early as my birth. Bincy, Caty and Jeremy’s friend, not knowing that I’m visualizing this, begins to pray for me regarding these very things! This happened THREE TIMES until I finally gave in and say, “OKAY FINE! I surrender to you, God.” When I said this, my whole body became weightless and I had this unexplainable warmth that covered my body. This was the powerful moment when, in my heart, I received Jesus as Lord, as I encountered the filling of His precious Holy Spirit.
Very soon after this happened to me, it was put on my heart to apply to the World Race. After spending a lot of time in prayer about it and a lot of unexplainable circumstances that were leading me to apply – I applied, interviewed and the Lord opened up the door for me to go! (I’ll make a blog post about this in the very near future)
Beginning in January 2020, my squad and I will be going to Australia, Indonesia, India, Nepal, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Spain and Morocco. During those 11 months we will be working with local ministries to help victims of human trafficking and forced prostitution, orphanages and plant churches!!!
I’m really excited for this season He has brought forth! It’s pretty crazy to think of who I was just a year ago – Someone who was broken, a cigarette smoker, and a drinker. I am no longer this way because of HIM! IT WAS JESUS WHO REDEEMED, TRANSFORMED AND RENEWED ME! Man did not create this nor was it my own doing but the gracious and precious love of my Lord and Savior!
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10
Throughout this whole process, my main desire is to keep Jesus in the center of this mission. My prayer and hope is that each and every one of you is to encourage you to look to Him and seek who He is. Because He’s incredible ya’ll!!!
I love you guys!!
P.S. I’m exactly 98 days cigarette and alcohol free!!! Praise the King!
Krystina 😀
