Gonzalez Mackenzie_Audio Essay

Ana Laura shares her personal testimony about a dark period in her life when her father left her and her mother. She decided to run away from her problems by going to college but realized it didn't fix anything. She withdrew from classes and ended up in debt. In 2021, she enrolled in a community college and discovered her passion for art and graphic design. With financial aid and a work-study job, she was able to continue her education comfortably. When it came time to transfer to a university, she didn't know how she would pay for it. However, through prayers and determination, she was able to attend university debt-free. Ana Laura now looks back and thanks God for the events that led her to where she is now. She encourages others to see setbacks as opportunities for growth and transformation. Hi, I'm Ana Laura, your host, and this is Car Talks. Today I have a testimony of my own to share, one during the dark period in my life where I thought nothing would work out. It all started in 2019, when my father left my mom and I. He said he did not love her anymore and no longer wanted to be a family. Being a daughter of a pastor, this shattered me. The God I had trusted for my entire life had let this happen. I was now a part of a broken home. In my grief and pain, I decided to go away from college due to my graduating. The plan had always been to stay close to home, to family, but in my own mind, it did not feel that way. I decided to run away from my problems. By going away and starting my new, adult life, I thought I would feel better. Those memories of moving into my dorm with my mom and freshman week activities are memories I'll hold dear forever. As I remained at school and classes began, something was missing. I slowly and painfully began to realize I could, in fact, not do this. Running away fixed nothing. I called my mom. She went and picked me up. I withdrew from classes and left that school. It had been less than three weeks of classes. Being a first-gen student, I had zero clue how financial aid truly worked. By withdrawing after the period, I actually ended up in debt to the school, something I had not predicted. With a plan to pay and feeling better back at home, I began working to figure out my next steps. If you've been following along with the timeline, you might realize what happened next. COVID. Working, feeling burnt out, and like I was falling behind in comparison to my graduating class. In 2021, I made the decision to go to a community college. I thought, since I'm not doing much and I don't really know what I want to do, might as well take some gen eds. And so I did. A fun fact about me is that art has always been my passion, and I had never taken a proper course before. What better time like the present, right? In this class, many of my peers were going the graphic design route. Did I have any true idea what it entailed? Not really. Did it seem like a good option to mesh my creativity with something that could get me a good future? Absolutely. And so, my next three years rolled around that. Financial aid carried me through school, and I had an incredible work-study job that allowed me to do both. I was fine, comfortable, but then came the time to transfer to university. I had no idea how I was going to pay for it. Yes, financial aid was a thing, but I had been burned once before. I was determined to not have to pay a single penny. I declared it in Jesus' name. The school would give me the money necessary, and even triple. At the time, I had no idea what I had done, but the words came out and could not be taken back. The spring of 2023 was showtime. Up to the first day of classes, I still did not know whether or not my schooling would be covered. I went to classes and fell in love with the campus. I just thought of my mom. How could I leave and do this to her again? How would we pay? We held our face, and about a week later, after many phone calls and emails and back and forth, my prayers had been answered. I was going to university absolutely debt-free. Not a single dollar came out of my pockets that was not reimbursed to me. I could now achieve my dreams and make both my parents proud, whether we were all together or not. I now look back at my situation and thank God and praise Him. As painful as life felt back then, had it not been for my father leaving, this string of events would not have happened this way. I would have not decided to go to community college and, in turn, committed to a career that would have made me miserable. Throughout these events, I found joy in my season and sought out what the Lord might have been teaching me. As you think about your own season, consider this. Every setback can be a stepping stone, guiding you toward an unexpected opportunity. Time is fleeting, and while we may feel stuck at times, remember that each moment holds the potential for growth and transformation. What lessons do you think are waiting for you to uncover?