Bills, Fears, and a Broken Clutch 2,000 Miles From Home.

by Carter Lloyd

Photo courtesy: Carter Lloyd

It takes a lot to move away from your family. It takes even more to move away from your family when the furthest you had ever lived from them was one state over for just about twelve weeks or so for a summer. Even then, it was only a five hour drive home. That was me; that was me up until the August of 2017, when I packed up all my belongings into my 2005 Saturn Vue, and hit the road. At the ripe age of 22 I loaded everything I owned into my five speed and, with quite possibly delusions of grandeur and ideas of adventure, headed out to Redding, California. That was the start of what can only be described as the hardest, best year of my life.

With my most recent paycheck in the bank, 33 hours spread out over four days, eight states, 2,385 miles, two hotels, a deflating air mattress, and one tow truck later, I had only started to learn what it means to live with Courage over Fear. I set out to make this trip alone, and that I did, almost. See, the last leg of that trip was the hardest part of it. From Salt Lake City, to Redding is a ten hour drive. Making that drive by yourself is grueling, to say the least. To add to a full day of driving non-stop, save gas, and restroom stops. I hit up a lot of McDonald's drive thru's (sorry mom) I was just ready to be at the house I was going to be living in and meet all the guys I’d be doing life with. I was coming up on my last exit, off the freeway to Victor Avenue, just shy of five miles from my house. I was so close, I could almost feel the soft bed I was going to collapse onto. As I came up on the exit, I notice the light on Victor Ave. was red, so I went to downshift in order to stop. The only problem I had was when I pushed in on my clutch, it went straight to the floor with no pressure. Not good. I had no way of shifting to a lower gear to stop. Now, I could drop out of gear to stop, but I couldn’t get back into gear to be able to move again. So there I was, 2,380 miles from my family, no debit card (I had just switched banks and didn’t have a card yet) only the little cash in my pocket, and no idea what I was going to do, and I could feel the fear setting in. This was the first time I had the choice of “Am I going to let the fear of not knowing anyone in this new city, and not knowing what to do win? Or am I going to put courage over fear and rise to the occasion?” Well, I chose to call my Dad. My parents then spent the next hour or so on the phone with me while googling towing companies and calling them from Indiana to find one that would let them pay over the phone to come tow me the rest of the way. Once we found one and I got safely to the house I was living in, began the journey of working part time in a new state, being a full time student, and not having a car for the next six months.

I moved to California to attend a school called Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, and I had no idea what I was getting into. In the span of nine months I read 18 books. Up to this point, I don’t know if I had ever read 18 books in my life (that may not be true...okay...it’s not. But it makes for a better story) and got so many revelations about my identity in Christ and putting this whole Courage over Fear thing into practice more often than not. For me, this mostly looked like (and still does) getting my bills paid. In order to register for school, I had to have half of my tuition paid off. I was scheduled to register at 12 o’clock and at 11 I was still $250 short of having half my tuition paid off. But, I decided to put courage over fear and trust God to show up. When I arrived at the school to register with less than an hour until the deadline, I told the admins there that I was still $250 short. I was then sent into a room to talk to a financial pastor about getting on a payment plan so I could start the process of registration and meet the people I’d be having class with. Right as I was starting to get up to get in line to speak with the financial pastor, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Upon checking it, I realize I had gotten an email saying I had received a donation for $450 toward my tuition. God came through for me.

Time and time again, God came through when it felt like there was no way to pay the things that needed paid. To put a very long story in a short way: God provided the money for the rest of my tuition within hours of it needing to be paid, provided the money and the means to get my car fixed so I could move back to Indiana after the school year, and continues to provide when I don’t think there is going to be a way for Him to come through. And it all started with me saying yes to God, and no to fear. To me, in my story, truly putting courage over fear, was saying “yes” to what I felt like God was calling me to do, and saying no to fear. I hope my story, and other stories you read on this blog, will help inspire you to find new ways you can put courage over fear in your personal life.

Photo courtesy: Carter Lloyd

**Carter Lloyd was the first person to join Steve on the Courage Over Fear project after he first heard of the idea on a phone call with Steve in the fall of 2017. Since then, Carter has been one of the biggest encouragement's and supporters to getting this project off the ground. Now at 24-years-old, Carter stays busy making drinks as a shift-manager at Starbucks and volunteering at a church plant outside Indianapolis. He is passionate about encouraging others and seeks ways to provide positive opportunities for underprivileged youth.

Follow Carter | Facebook | Instagram