To the Class of 2013

     In honor of graduation today, I decided I'd pass on the little knowledge I have to the most recent high school graduates. I was in that same spot just a year ago and as I look at where I've come from since graduation, it's by God's grace that I'm here where I stand today.
     I remember senior recognition at church last year. Scott Sterling asked us senior girls to be on a panel and talk about our years through high school and how God has shaped our lives through the past four years, preparing us for the next four. I wasn't where I needed to be with God at that time, but I figured I could get up there on stage and say some godly things without anybody realizing I was in a real crummy spot in my walk. When it came to be my turn, I was asked what verse had carried me through high school. I knew the answer immediately, it's a verse I've accidently memorized from just spending so much time with it in high school. It was from TPX weekend in 8th grade 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Midway through the verse I, Alyssa Hicks, started crying. I never cry--like, never. But the words I was saying weren't true. I hadn't been running the race, I hadn't been beating my body. I was running like a man running aimlessly and if it was up to man, I definitely would've been disqualified for the Prize. I got in front of church that Sunday, confident in the flesh to have just enough Jesus points left in me to fake the spot I was in. That was a wakeup call.
     That summer, I made sure to make my body my slave. Nothing that I was chasing after was everlasting, and that was empty; not just unfulfilling, but empty. God had surrounded me around four great sisters-in-Christ during high school that were great at loving, learning and teaching. That summer I fled from the dirt that covered me and bathed in Christ's grace. I knew I stood for God and I didn't want that line to get blurry once I headed off to school. All summer long I prayed for a roommate that I could help, but also wouldn't hinder me, I prayed for community in college and believers who were chasing after the same things as I. I prayed that I would be able to keep the friendships I had at home and be a light to those new relationships in Springfield.
     Once August came around and I moved down to Missouri State, I had a clear plan of what I was going to do. I was going to stand for God and there was going to be no question about it. I was not going to be easy to sway or curious of what sin could be brought out in this new sense of freedom--I had already tasted the sweetest freedom--and I was going to be a disciple, an ambassador for God.
     This past year, God brought some great believers in my life. Followers of Christ that were all in different spots in their walk and a blessing in mine because of it. I was able to stand for God in the classroom, library, dining hall, on my floor. I stepped out of my comfort zone time and time again because He asked me to. I was thrown in the middle of the road by God to do some things, even though I lacked the courage to do so on my own at times.
     They say college is the place you grow up. You don't have anyone there telling you to clean your room, go to bed or go to church. You choose your path. I can give you that cheesy Abe Lincoln-esque quote about, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything," and I will, because it's true! If you go to college wanting to be sort of a Christian, you'll leave college more lost than you came. If you fail to plan...
     College can be scary, but it's also liberating. God showed me some of my greatest gifts this past year and chiseled away parts of my heart that didn't reflect His will for my life. The only advice I have is love God, everything else will fall into place.

God lives in Springfield, too

     This year, God has showed me so many different facets of Him. He never fails to impress me with the things He has in store for me, from posting my testimony to YouTube to going to Jamaica this summer, I have seen God push me for my own good so many times. But with all the things going on back at Gateway Church, I hated searching for a church down here in Springfield, because I felt like I was missing out on all the miracles happening back home. God has done so many huge things through Gateway as a whole, as well as the individuals who make up the church. I've been blessed to see coaches take our high school football team on mission trips, friends accept new siblings or sons and daughters into their family, and prisoners accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And Joey, being the shepherd he is, brought more strength to our church this past year than was ever expected of him. Part of the reason it's been so hard to find a church is because of the high expectations I had. Gateway does things so Christ-centered that I had little faith any other church would even come close to it.
     All year, my friends and I have been church hopping. It's been quite a stressful and tiring job, but through it, I have been able to see the girls that have walked with me through this journey grow alongside me. Maybe I wasn't at Gateway, but I have a community of people who genuinely care for everlasting life and are chasing after the same things as me. God has allowed me to step out on my own and open my mind to the family in Christ I have outside of Blue Springs. I haven't completely gotten over missing out on all the great things going on at Gateway, but I think I've finally found a church down here in Springfield. It wouldn't have been able to be done if it wasn't for the examples I was given back home.
     As the year comes to a close, I find myself not wanting to come home. I've made so many friends down here and home means work, and I don't want to do that either. I'm so excited to see what God has in store for me next year that He's already started. I serve a God who is bigger than Blue Springs, Missouri; who is bigger than Springfield, Missouri. I serve a God who calls people out of darkness and comforts those in need, who brings justice and saves. I serve the God who is.