July 7th 2016 is the day my world changed forever. On this day 2 years ago I had no clue what my future held. I had so many dreams and goals but I had no clue how or when I would reach them. In my head everything seemed so possible but I quickly learned that those dreams and goals would not come easy.
Rewind to March 8th 2016, the first time I had ever met with Dr. Lewis and her team I walked out of that appointment, EXCITED and ready to see what was going to happen next. At the time she had never had a patient make a decision so fast, clearly she had never worked with me! I am the type that makes a decision and will stick with it forever no matter what.
The day I walked out of that appointment I became OKAY with the fact that I would probably NEVER play volleyball again and I also began brain storming on what sports I could pick up next. Little did I know that God knew exactly what he was doing with me and my LEAP. He was preparing me for something bigger and better than EVER before.
Today, Leni turns 2, and it has defiantly been an interesting yet amazing 2 years! It has been 2 years since the nasty tumor that tried taking over my life was removed and 2 years since my new amazing life began!!
In these two years some amazing things have happened! In August of last year I went back to my HOME, Texas Lutheran University! I blogged about this a little more in my last post but it was absolutely amazing!
In November I was asked to attend my first National Team Camp and it has blessed me beyond measure. In January of 2018 I decided to accept the offer of moving up to Oklahoma to train in the resident training program. When I decided to move up I had my eyes set only on Tokyo. I prayed I would be able to make the worlds roster but I did not think I was going to be “good enough” or was what coach was looking for.
(By the way I have never felt this way in my life so it was defiantly a new feeling for me. I have always been a person who knew I was beautifully and wonderfully made but for some reason this really tested my faith in myself!
I am not a person who is good with the unknown but that is the nature of this sport.)
Fast forward to May of this year when I got an email that forever changed me. I got the email announcing I would be on the 2018 Worlds Roster with the USA Women’s National Sitting Volleyball Team! What made it all better is we were told we would be leaving on JULY 7th!!!! This was meant to be and I still ask myself why I ever questioned my worth on something like this! God knows what he has planned for me and I need to remember to let go and let HIM take control.
So as I write this JULY 7 2018 Leni’s Second Birthday, I am sitting in the Newark Airport on an 7 hour lay over thanking the Lord for where I am today. We are on our way to Italy and then to Holland for the Worlds Competition! As I sit here with my team I am thankful for the new FAMILY I have found. They are so welcoming and encouraging in all that I do. The move to Oklahoma was not easy at all but it has all been worth it.
To everyone has been praying for me and this process THANK YOU! To those that have followed my LEAP, THANK YOU. To those who reminded me day in and day out this is worth it all, THANK YOU! For those who ever question their worth remember to trust in GODs plan for you. He has it all planed out! NEVER give up and NEVER feel like something is to far out of reach!
Isaiah 40:29-31
“He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”
Much Love Always,
Jillian K