My name is Kylie Caldwell and I am here to tell my story.

Life is simply a gift. Even in the hard times and good times, life has always been considered a blessing to me. I have overcome many adversities and complications in my life. From losing loved ones, my family splitting apart, and dealing with severe depression along with suicidal thoughts, each complication has helped shape my personality and made me stronger. Like I always say, God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers.

The moment my naive outlook on life was drastically altered was the day that I found out my father had had an affair on my mother. To some people, this may not seem like a huge deal, but to me, it was since I had always lived a sheltered life. My family was not perfect by any means, but we were always so close. I am not going to go into the details of the affair but I will say that it was the most devastating thing to happen to me in my lifetime. It took a toll on everything I did. My depression came back and I was unhappy and miserable every day. My brother also began to be depressed and we both grew to become suicidal. One night my brother confided in me about how unhappy he was and how he grew to resent waking up every morning. That conversation broke me down to the very bottom of my whole being and made my heart hurt worse than ever before. I could deal with whatever was going on in life (barely) but I could not deal with losing my brother and him being unhappy. That conversation lead to me and my brother to surrendering our lives to God.

Now here’s where my story and my life actually begins:

I gave everything to God and rededicated my life to Him. Every ounce of pain, resent, and hurt I had, I shoved His way. I knew there was nowhere to go but up and the only way I could ever go up was by giving one-hundred percent of myself to God. The decision to give my life to Christ was the most life altering and best decision I have ever made. With this decision, God carried me through the hard times, gave me hope, and gave me an underlying joy and peace within myself. Even though life is not always the easiest and we do not always get handed the smoothest path to walk on, it is definitely a gift from God. During all of the adversities and struggles, I learned to put my hope and trust in God. I also learned that everything happens for a reason and God has a plan for everything. If it wasn’t for the complications and difficult times, my brother and me may not have surrendered to Christ so because of those adversities, I am thankful.

Here’s what I want for you to hear:

Whatever may be going on in your life, I promise you, God is bigger. Whatever may be weighing down your shoulders, God’s shoulders are bigger so give the weight to Him instead. The only way to have peace and joy through life’s struggles is by giving everything to God. Not just some things, but everything. God doesn't just want 99.9998% of you. He wants ALL of you. He wants to comfort you, for you to be happy, and for you to have peace. God looks at you as His perfect creation and child, and he doesn't want His children upset. He does not want you to worry, to be anxious, to be fearful of the future, or to even be sad. He loves you so much that He sent his perfect son to die on the cross for you and your sins so that you may live a life worth glorifying Him. The moment you LET GO and LET GOD is the moment you will be overwhelmed with peace. Letting God have control is not always easy, but it is so worth it.

“Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7