Pulled out of school in fifth grade, the library became my middle school and high school, with me as my own teacher. At first I didn’t mind—until I began watching the school bus pass each day, carrying peers who seemed to be moving forward while I remained behind, milking cows and wondering if I’d ever have the chance to walk across a graduation stage. 

By 18, I was managing 130 head of cattle as the farm’s herdsman. By 22, I still felt trapped by circumstances I didn’t know how to change.

Then a friend introduced me to The Jackrabbit Factor, and for the first time, I began to wonder if I had more power to change my life than fear had allowed me to believe. An extraordinary encounter with a real wild jackrabbit seemed to confirm that God was inviting me to dream again—but accepting that invitation meant risking the only security I had ever known.

In this session, you’ll hear what happened when the worst winter of my life finally taught me to let go and allow God to make a “mess” of the life I was clinging to so He could rebuild it differently. Within a month, I went from trapped herdsman to train robber at a tourist railroad—the unlikely beginning of a journey that eventually took me somewhere I had stopped believing I could go: across a graduation stage at BYU.

Come discover what can happen when you dare to dream again, release your grip on how life has to unfold, and trust God with what comes next.

Kristen J. Lloyd, “The Confidence Cowgirl,” went from a 5th-grade education to a BYU degree, defying odds. As a speaker, coach, and author of two children’s books, she helps others Find Their Brave, Resilience, and Self-worth. She lives in Heber, UT with her family, grateful to help others as God leads.