My dad always said, “Remember who you are and Whose you are,” and most of the time that statement rolled off me quite quickly never leaving much of an impression on me. I went through high school being whoever I wanted me to be. I honestly didn't know who I was and could not claim to be a daughter of this wonderful savior because I never acted like His unless I was sitting on a pew on Sunday morning. However, as I always had heard but never really thought was true, God sent me a wake up call. He sent me a wake up call in way that I could have never seen coming. He sent me a ticket, gummies, and an alarm.

First, God had to pump a newfound energy for his work into my veins. He did this by giving me a ticket. One day as I was sitting in class thinking about graduation and how much I wanted to be out of high school and it just so happened the next Sunday I was given an opportunity to go on a mission trip to the Caribbean. This was perfect, a Caribbean mission trip with my best friend and an opportunity to serve God. As we finished the payments for the trip and received our passports, tickets, and itineraries we all were beyond excited. As the day got closer and closer and the snow days pilled on higher and higher, I realized I was going to have to make a choice: graduation or the ticket. God seemed to be giving me an ultimatum: Him or the world and I had chosen the world too long, so I made a quick decision and decided “who needs graduation, it's a dumb line anyway,” and May 24 approached ever more quickly. Philippians 4:19 says, “You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, His generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus,” and I was slowly beginning to realize that God had a purpose for me.

Next, God sent me thousands of miles away without my parents, but he sent me with packs of gummies. Everywhere we went on the island I always had in my backpack tracts to hand out, my Bible, a water bottle, and packs of gummies. However in no way did I ever think that God could use gummies as a way to give me a purpose. As we went to church that night, many children began to pour into this small building, and my heart melted because the one thing I love more than gummies is children. As I met a four year old boy, he reached in my backpack and found my gummies and proceeded to open the package and eat them. He sat with me that night and we drew pictures and sang the songs, and after a night of playing with him he had stolen my heart to Dominica. Each night we grew closer together and Tyreed knew that he could always come to me. God sent me gummies to break my heart, as odd as it sounds, and rededicate it to Him. I never knew the love of God until He broke my heart and opened it to look at the hearts of these children.

Finally, God sent me an alarm to ensure I was entirely awake and focused on Him. Towards the end of the trip, my best friend and I were just getting in from door knocking, and I headed down towards the water because in a place like this God’s handiwork is evident. I just happened to see a boy who was fishing with a stick and twine, and thought this may be His only opportunity to hear about God. We both began to talk to this boy about God, he had so many questions and such a willing heart. This short conversation lead to a Bible study the next day, only this is when God woke me up. I was invited to come sit in one the study, but I soon realized I knew none of the verses we were trying to teach this boy in order to become a Christian and I already was one. I had been a Christian for eight years but had I even grown? Hebrews 5:13-14 states, “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” I was still a babe in Christ when I needed to be a mature Christian who spread God’s light wherever I went. Alarms began to go off in my head as I sat there hoping he wouldn't ask me anything, hoping he wouldn't ask me about something specific. That day, on that small porch God woke me up by sending a boy fishing with a stick and twine.

I was one of those Sunday morning Christians that never really acted on their faith, a lukewarm christian that never really knew how awesome God was. I was not a daughter of a King. God sent me a ticket, gummies, and an alarm and changed my whole life. He took Dominica and placed it in my heart where it will forever stay along with those final "good-bye for nows." My dad always said, “Remember who you are and Whose you are,” and that used to roll off, but now it reminds me how blessed I am to have a Savior who believes in second chances.