Hello everyone, my name is Carissa Pierce and I am from BeautifulYou. It is such an honor to be able to share a story with you that is very dear to my heart. Let me start off by saying that, God is good, and his timing is great. Even when it doesn’t make sense or something doesn’t happen in the timing we want; God still provides and comes through.

God‘s timing and his plan for our lives is perfect. Just as Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” God has a perfect plan for you. This leads me to a piece of my testimony, that I pray You can relate to or learn something from. This scripture above is a scripture that got me through and I had to learn to fully believe and trust in.

When I was 12 years old, me and my family were called to move to Texas. I lived in Pennsylvania my whole life and made such great friends. When God called my family to Texas it was the hardest move of my life. I was also going through an age where I was trying to figure out who I was. In Texas I went through a really lonely season, I tried to make friends, but when you join in 6th grade towards the end of the year, everyone has already made their friends.

I really struggled going from having a bunch of friends to having no one. I struggle with the normal emotions of anger, sadness, loneliness, and pain, until God revealed himself to me. I remember I was in my room, after I attended my first youth service. I heard the voice of God so clear, that I felt like I didn’t need anyone else. That’s where I found my true love, my true friend, my father. Yes I had my family, but I would have this overwhelming loneliness that could only be filled by this friend I had rediscovered.

God started speaking to me, guiding me. He also showed me right from wrong, and showed me that my parents are my number one fans and that they want to help me. I grew so much closer to my family, and most of all God. I will never forget when I was 13 after a full year of discovering who he was, he told me what he wanted me to be. He said, “Daughter I’ve called you to be a singer, songwriter, worship leader, and inspirational speaker.” I did not want to go into music at all, and I said, “OK God, if you want me to do this then you need to provide a computer, training, a piano, mic, and amp.”

Over the course of the year every one of the things I stated came. He showed me what to do, and what true worship was. I found my heart for worship and most of all God. Even though it was not easy, because I did not want to go into music at all. I wanted to play sports. He guided me, he directed me.

After a year of this vision, I started losing sight of it. One night I was really discouraged because I was trying to find the love in the type of voice God personally gave me. I wanted to see that vision that was in the beginning that God gave me. When I opened my eyes, I saw a physical heavenly hand on my ceiling shaped like a C. I did not jump, it startled me, but when I saw this I heard God say, “Daughter, my hand is upon you and your voice, you will go far because I am guiding you, not because of what you can do.”

From this moment on I discovered my true love, my true best friend, and that when God calls, it’s in his timing not ours! I also discovered the voice God gave me and started to fall in love and have confidence in who I was in Christ. I don’t share this to brag, I share this to encourage you that no matter where you are in life, God loves you and wants to use you.

Sometimes the call of God isn’t what we want or picture for our lives. I promise you, when you submit to his plan, you will find such a hunger, and such a passion for the plan that God has. So, I ask you, will you submit? Will you lay down your plan, and your timing, for the Lord?

God is right next to you saying Daughter, Son, let me guide you, let me direct you. Will you open the door and allow him to take the wheel! If so, all you have to do is tell the Lord, God I submit, God I am ready, and God I trust you! I encourage you to take this leap of trust, and watch what God is going to do powerfully through you!

Thank you for your time, and God bless!

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