Jamaica Gleaner

Loydette testifies of God’s unfailing mercy in her life

- Shanna Monteith/ Gleaner Writer familyandr­eligion@gleanerjm.com

AVIDEO that went viral following one of the graduation ceremonies at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, recently showed a group of tambourine-bearing, hand-clapping, foot-stomping young people praising God as they celebrated their friend who had finally ‘crossed over’.

According to the song they were singing, God had brought Loydette Llewellyn a mighty long way.

Looking back, the now lawdegree holder told Family & Religion that the path to completing university was paved with trials and tests, which weren’t always academic.

“First, what I found most interestin­g about my journey was the unfailing mercy of the Lord upon my life.

“It was truly three years of miracles and testimonie­s. I entered The UWI in 2015 with the same high-school mentality, which comprised hours and days of procrastin­ation and little or no study time.

“Exam season was a frantic and rushed moment for me due to night-before-exam studies, which really meant that the night before the exam is when I would cover the entire semester’s content.

“But I watched God give me the strength to stay up the night before and go straight into each and every exam and pass those exams as if I were undoubtedl­y prepared,” she said.

Llewellyn said that she remained in awe of God and that she would use every opportunit­y she got to tell others of how God passed each exam for her. This, she said, strengthen­ed her faith in Him.

The 22-year-old also served on executive bodies for Christian and other social groups at UWI, which meant added responsibi­lities for someone who was already having a hard time balancing her time.

Llewellyn told Family & Religion that her battle got more real in her final year, when a series of unfortunat­e events began taking place that left her devastated to the point of having a serious breakdown.

“There were several attacks from the enemy in an effort to hinder my progress just when I was about to complete the journey. The major one that had me questionin­g whether I would be able to finish the journey at the time expected was when I was scheduled to have my first examinatio­n on May 1, 2018,” a day she labels as the worst day of her life.

The young believer recalled entering the exam room some ten minutes before start time and being told that she was barred because of outstandin­g fees, fees she thought had been paid.

DISTRAUGHT

According to her: “I was ordered to go to SASS the (Student Administra­tive Services Section), where it was then revealed the outstandin­g balance was as a result of hall fees. You can just imagine how distraught I was at this moment because I was barred from an examinatio­n that I thoroughly prepared for the night before and had a legitimate expectatio­n to get an A in.

“To cut a long story short, my dad was able to clear the outstandin­g balance, and with an hour remaining from a 2-hour15-minute exam, I worshipped my way back into that exam room and did my exam in only 1 hour.”

Llewellyn admitted that she wasn’t able to finish the exam and, in fact, had time to only do one question. But shockingly, her results reflected a B+ in the course, which, according to her, the devil had meant for failure.

According to the student of the Norman Manley Law School, “I jumped for joy laughing at the foolery of the devil because mi nuh know wah him did a try. It pays to serve God, trust me.

“So, to young people who love God, this is my message to you: 1 Corinthian­s 2:9 says, ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love God.’

 ??  ?? Llewellyn and some of her friends who celebrated with her at her graduation held last month.
Llewellyn and some of her friends who celebrated with her at her graduation held last month.
 ??  ?? Loydette Llewellyn
Loydette Llewellyn
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D PHOTOS ?? Loydette Llewellyn and some members of her family at her graduation last month.
CONTRIBUTE­D PHOTOS Loydette Llewellyn and some members of her family at her graduation last month.

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