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You will never make it past the 8th grade!
We think she is bipolar.
Wow, Kyiva, I didn’t think you were gonna make it!
All these things were said about me or to me throughout my youth. These comments could have defined me, crippled me, and set my life on a downward spiral. But I had a fire in me, a fire for a greater cause, for something bigger than me. The fire that God puts in every person was alive in me.
I was a child who struggled with anger, sadness, and bitterness. I had to depend on multiple mom-types for a place to stay because my mother fought the battle of addiction. I felt forgotten.
Early in my childhood, I was exposed to Christ and His message. As a first-grader I went to a Wednesday church sponsored program. A few years later, an afterschool program, Graffiti 2, really made a difference. I might have been little, but I received their messages that no matter what your circumstances are or what people say about you, God has a future for you! He makes all things new and supplies the power for life. My fire and His fire started working together.
Unfortunately, like many young teens I cried out in hurtful ways. I began spending my weekends drinking and partying. I was searching for something, but I would soon find out that God is the only thing that could fill my void.
I always knew God had a plan for me. When I was fifteen years old, He moved me from my devastating home environment in the Bronx, New York, to the suburbs of Arlington, Texas. I thought this was my big break, that I had made it out of the “hood.”
That worked for awhile. But drama and miscommunication about me swirled. Once again I had to leave that home for another just before my senior year in high school. Would anything ever work out?
I remembered my times of bitterness and sadness. I wondered how God had let this happen to me. I had followed His plan. I had been obedient. “Why me?” I asked.
I had believed that the grass was greener on the other side. However, there was something missing in Texas just as it had been missing in the South Bronx.
The truth is, there was a clear disconnect between my desire and my motivation. God answered. God showed me firsthand that no matter where I am in the world, He is still the only thing that will hold me steady in trying times. Sure I made mistakes, but God would not give up on me!
With the fire in me and the fire of God, I pushed through against the odds and graduated from high school!
I didn’t stop there. I went on to college and graduated with honors in social work and criminal justice. Now I’m heading to graduate school. After that I want to go back to my neighborhood in the Bronx and help people. Yes, this same little girl whom people said wouldn’t make it past the 8th grade is coming back to help!
2 Corinthians 5:17 speaks of renewal through Christ. We are not tied to our past or what people think about us. Jesus died on the cross to bear our burdens and then rose again to life so we can live a full and meaningful life! The same power that raised Jesus Christ on Easter is in us who believe! (Ephesians 1:19-20)
What does this all mean?
Get FIRED UP!! The fire God placed in you is still there. Go after it. Then connect with the fire of God. Together, you and God are unstoppable!
Want to know how to start the pathway to college? See Reach UP article “So You Want to Go to College” in the Spring 2017 issue.
