How I Decided Which College to Attend

It was halfway through my first semester of senior year in high school when I was begging for the Lord to speak and reveal Himself to me. It was getting closer to the time that every senior dreads, or at least me, college application time.  

The moment you become a senior you will have so many people ask you questions like, “So what college are you going to?”, “What are you going to be studying in college?”, “What career are you going to pursue?” All of these questions constantly coming at you while being a senior can be very draining.

It also puts a sense of pressure on you and makes you question if you are “behind” and should already have your whole life figured out. I’m here to tell you that no one has this thing called life figured out! Maybe some people would say they do and they have the next 10 years planned out, but God usually has better things in store for us than what we have planned.

A few months into my senior year, I was trying to think and picture what type of career or job I would possibly be interested in one day. Out of nowhere, the Lord put this thought in my head and I haven’t forgotten it ever since.

He told me to work for a mission organization. I have had the biggest heart for missions ever since I was little. I thought I would be called to be a missionary overseas for the longest time, but the Lord had something else in mind.  

He was calling me to be a missionary, but He was calling me to stay in the states and work with a mission organization that does mission work around the world. I had no idea what this all entailed, but I knew the Lord put this dream in my mind for a reason. This dream is what helped me to eventually be able to choose what major and school I was to attend. 

I applied to the University of North Florida, and I got in. This is the college that my mom and a lot of my family members graduated from. If I chose to attend there it would only be because it was close to home and I didn’t want to go away to college. I wasn’t really interested in the school besides that it was close to home.

The other school I applied to was Liberty University. Liberty was my dream school and I applied just to see if I would get in. I had no intentions of leaving Florida to go to school.

I got accepted and thought it was cool, but I didn’t know if I was going to do anything about it. I had a choice between going to a college 45 minutes from my house vs. a college that was 9 hours away from home. You can imagine the dilemma that I had going on in my head. It was very very difficult. 

As my senior year went on, I started getting really interested in Liberty. But, I thought there was no way in heck I would go because of how far away it was, and going to college out of state can get expensive. This is when I was begging God to lead me and guide me.  

I trusted God’s wisdom and direction over what I thought was best for me. I was willing to go out of state to college, but I was also willing to stay close to home if that’s what He thought was best for me. I was willing to go wherever the Lord called me, the issue was I struggled to try to figure out which college the Lord was leading me to. I knew I had a strong tug towards Liberty, but I had many hesitations. 

I decided to attend College for a Weekend at Liberty in February of 2020. I wanted to at least attend and get a feel for Liberty before I decided whether to attend or not. I went and absolutely loved it, but I was still keeping my options open.  

I met other potential students and we had the best time. I hung out with this girl named Meredith that I met through Instagram. When I decided to go to CFAW I knew no one that was going and it was stressing me out. Then this one girl named Meredith Miles really stuck out to me. Through just direct messaging, I could tell this girl was fun, outgoing, sweet, and sounded like a blast to be around.

We chatted back and forth and actually had a ton in common. We stayed in touch and ended up hanging out the entire weekend at CFAW. I gave her the biggest hug and I tried to hold back the tears as I told her goodbye at the end of the weekend. This girl was amazing and I had the best time with her, and I wasn't sure if I would ever see her again.  

Then, quarantine hit in March. I still hadn’t decided where I wanted to go to college yet. I loved my visit to Liberty, but there were still so many things up in the air.

I picked back up this Bible study I had started a while back. It is called “Discerning the Voice of God” by Priscilla Shirer. Let me tell you, if you are trying to decide which college to go to or trying to make a big decision in your life, I HIGHLY recommend this study.  

It changed my life and my perspective, and by the end of the study, I could hear the Lord clearly and I knew exactly where He was leading me. I learned so much and grew the closest I’ve ever been to the Lord. 

Everything ended up working out perfectly and I knew without a doubt the Lord was leading me to attend Liberty. I just knew He had big plans in store for me there. 

The girl Meredith I met at College For a Weekend ended up being able to come to Liberty as well, and of course, we wanted to be roommates. Praise God we found a room! I met some of the best people because God strategically put Meredith and I in that exact building, on that exact floor, in that exact room. I’m telling y'all the Lord is good and He will work everything out for good! 

This is MY Testimony!!! The Lord is SO GOOD!! He will not only lead and guide you to where He wants you to go, but He will PROVIDE. My saying that I have up in my dorm room is “Where God guides, He provides.” This is SO true. I know for a fact He has led me here, so He will provide me with everything that I might need. He was faithful then, and so He will be faithful now. 

I encourage you if you are in a season of discouragement or trying to make a big decision, lean on God because He WILL come through for you. Whether it’s how we think He will come through, or in a completely different way. You have to keep pursuing Him and believing that He will reveal the next step to you.  

He may not reveal the next 5 years or even the next few months, but what He will do is reveal the next step He wants you to take. And when He does, you take that step. Go ahead and put your yes on the table for God, so when He does call and reveal what He wants you to do, you already are ready and willing to say yes.

You will never regret saying yes to the Lord, but you will regret saying no. He knows exactly what is best for you, so why would you not trust Him?

To close, here are four lessons I learned going through this journey:

•  Lesson 1: The Lord will end up working everything together for good. It may be stressful at the moment, but just remind yourself that it will all work out according to God’s plan and His timing. (Romans 8:28)

• Lesson 2: You don’t have to please everyone with your decision. Make whatever decision is best for you and wherever you feel God calling and leading you. If certain people don’t agree with your decision and you know for a fact it is what God is calling you to do, then you’ve done all you can. God will take care of the rest.

• Lesson 3: Not everyone has their life all figured out. It may look like some people’s lives are all perfect, but that is not true. Just take the next step with God and He will continue to lead you. Give the control of your life over to Him and stop trying to hold onto it.

• Lesson 4: Be willing to go wherever the Lord is calling you. Have your yes out and already on the table before the Lord even speaks to you. Make the decision to say yes, Lord, and follow Him wherever He leads you. Open up your arms in surrender to Him and accept His plans for your life because they are far better than anything we could ever dream for ourselves. 

- Kayla Milligan