February 24, 2008 was the day I was baptized into Christ. That was the easy part. I always knew that I wanted to be a disciple. Judging by all of the times my best friend and I “bathtized” each other, it was a part of life, no different than going to college. In retrospect, it was the process of becoming a disciple that had some challenges.At fourteen years old, there are a lot of things to consider. Will I go to every teen event or should I skip a couple because of basketball? Should I hang out with other teen disciples or is it ok to spend themajority of my time with kids who are a bad influence, though they may seem cool? Questions like these and many more entered my mind many times.
The questions that I was faced with were "camouflaged" decisions that would determine my priorities. For example, while I was studying the bible, my basketball coach invited me to play on the varsity team (as a freshman mind you). How could I refuse? My first game was on a Tuesday evening. Well, that happened to be the same night I was scheduled to meet with Erica Kim. The topic of our discussion, ironically, was to see if I was truly ready to be a disciple. So instead of meeting with Mrs. Kim as scheduled, I backed out in order to play a whole minute in the basketball game.
I continue to ask myself why I was so short-sighted in the choice that I made at that time. I believe that there was fear; the fear of what my coach might say and feel about me. There was also the fear of what my teammates would think. I did not want to be “that girl” who could not be depended upon. In addition to all this, there was my pride. Socially, basketball was the only avenue for my being accepted and even looked up to. “If I am good at sports, it’s a sure way of kids liking me and getting positive feedback” is what I would think.
My priorities were all messed up! Fortunately, God is gracious and He gives us more than second chances. The same situation presented itself to me again the following week. Basketball or Church? God or me?
God gave Moses and Joshua the “strength and courage” to defeat their enemies and to claim the Promised Land. How humbling it is to think that I just needed a little bit of strength and courage in order to call my basketball coach to inform her that I would not be able to make the game on Tuesday. When she responded, her exact words were, “Oh, go on and get baptized, girl!”
Through this experience, God gave me the faith to make Him a priority. He showed me that He will continue to provide for me even in the most minuscule of situations (Matthew 6: 25-34), though basketball was a big deal for me. Again, this was just the beginning of my walk with God. Sophomore year through senior year brought its own set of struggles and difficulties; however, the foundation of making God number one in my life has kept me on the straight and narrow until today. Now, I have graduated from high school and I have college in front of me. As I step foot onto campus, God willing, I plan to stay on this path until the day I die.
Editor’s Note:
Kalah’s Mother, Gwen Haley, was an expectant single mother when she was converted in Sacramento, CA in 1992. Gwen married Alex Haley when Kalah was 2 years old. Kalah now has two younger sisters and has grown up a Kingdom Kid. She recently turned 18 years old and in June graduated from the IB program at George Washington High School in Denver. She is headed to Spelman College in August. Until then, she is serving as a summer intern in Denver’s Youth Ministry.
