This is the fourth of our March blog posts on allowing God to use your story for His purposes.
I can remember being a little girl and knowing exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up. Chasing these Oklahoma storms every Spring season invigorated me to learn more about weather and how I could keep everyone safe. Meteorology was something that I felt I was supposed to do, and I still enjoy the smell of summer rain and thunder in the distance.
When God called out to me, I was going into my last year of undergrad. I had previously almost flunked out of the meteorology program at the University of Oklahoma and was at the bottom of a dark, slimy pit. With anxiety, depression, a pornography addiction, a close family member struggling with a substance addiction – I was in, as King David would have called it, ”a dry and exhausted land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). God reached out His mighty hand and offered me the only option I had left: to trust in Him. That last year in college was the best year academically for me, and I had no explanation for it other than a phenomenon orchestrated by God Himself.
It is hard to explain, or even type out, but my first few years of working as a meteorologist were incredibly unfulfilling and joyless. It pained me to not enjoy something I thought I was always meant to do and it left me seeking the will of the Father over my own.
The pandemic really shifted perspectives for many of us, including myself. As much tragedy and sorrow as it produced, the year of 2020 was the most spiritually life-changing year for me. The Holy Spirit moved in my life and in my heart so immensely and powerfully that it still brings me to tears when I recall the signs the Father was giving me. I was set on finding God’s will for my life, over my own, and it started with a dangerous prayer from Isaiah 6:8, “Here I am, Lord – send me.”
I have been attending Council Road since the end of 2018, and by the end of 2020 the Lord placed serving so passionately on my heart. Youth ministry seemed to be where God wanted me, especially serving middle school girls. It seemed crazy at the time, but God knew what He had begun to set in motion. I began to study and have a deep longing for the Word, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I can go without it. My heart felt this limitless joy for the first time in my life, and the Lord God revealed His will for my direction. His desires and mine finally clicked in place, and my heart forever belongs to Him and the ministry of reconciliation He has bestowed on us all. I took a huge leap of faith and began seminary in 2021, with the hopes of one day serving on staff at a church or within a ministry. I still don’t know all the details yet, or where He is taking me, but all I know is that the thrill of chasing the lost sheep far outweighs any storm ahead of me.
Meet the Author!
Kaitlin loves Jesus and the Word with all her heart and soul. She is currently engaged to Landon Niles and cannot wait to join the Niles Family Crew with Troy, Nolene, and Tate! She is currently attending Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for a Master of Theological Studies degree, with an emphasis in Biblical Counseling. She also serves in the youth ministry and leads 6-8th grade girls.