Why I Wear a Key that Says “Needed”

When you launch for the World Race,  you are given the opportunity to purchase a “key for the journey.” Keys for the Journey is a ministry started by a former Racer, Austin. He sells hand-pressed keys and partners with missionaries to assist them in raising funds for their kingdom work. The keys contain a word, either chosen by you or prophetic style – where Austin prays for a word from the Lord for you to press into in your current season.

 

The idea is as you wear the key around your neck, it is a tangible reminder to be in prayer over that area of your life. For me personally, I found myself absentmindedly playing with the key all of the time. Then, once you’ve experienced the growth the Lord has for you with that word, you then hand it off to someone else. In giving the word away, you empower others so they can have their own journey with it.

 

 

 

Well, 

 

I ordered a key for my race in 2019. I was given the key at my launch and I tentatively opened to find the word NEEDED.

 

 

I wrestled with this key for months on my race. I couldn’t see how I was needed. I mean God of the Universe doesn’t need me; He can do all things, like every. single. thing. without me. As I wrestled with it my teammates and squamates would kindly point out at various times “see Kayla, you’re needed.”

 

However, I was quick to attribute this to skills I had or tasks I could accomplish. For example, as I would translate to and from Spanish, my team would point out that I was needed, but I was quick to dismiss it. 

 

As I continued to wrestle with this word, I was often frustrated with this key that was around my neck. I wrote NEEDED on a page in my notebook and just left space for the Lord to speak into it. He gently told me:

• I’m needed not just for practical things like Spanish.
• I actually am needed for the Kingdom. He wants to use me.
• I am needed in the body of the church
• I am needed practically and yet not at all
• I have things to give away, maybe even something someone else needs, so give it away freely.

 

I finally, gained a bit of understanding, and while I felt there was more to dive into, I at least stopped being angry about the word that I wore around my neck. 

 

 

Now here’s the thing. I’m an enneagram two, and if you know the enneagram at all, that means I love to be needed. Helping, serving, doing. That’s me. Any way I can serve or help or meet a need. So it was/is fascinating to me that I was wrestling so hard with this word. Because I actually love to be needed.

 

 

But I think that is why I wrestled with it so much. I could tend to find my identity in being needed. And I had to learn that I was needed, not for what I could do, what I could offer, but simply for who I am. That I was uniquely created to fill a role in the Kingdom. 

 

 

I felt I was beginning to wrap my head around the whole NEEDED thing – maybe in a healthy way. A couple of teammates even said, “maybe it’s time to give it away, you’ll know when you see the right person.” 

 

 

And then COVID. We found out we were coming home. Thirty-something hours later we were on US soil barely comprehending what had just happened. 

 

In the midst of quarantine and not being sure what was going to happen (remember when we all thought lockdown was going to be very temporary) I ordered another key. I figured “why not? maybe it will give me some direction in life.”

 

 

 

My second key came. I excitedly and a little bit nervously opened it and it said… NEEDED.

 

 

 

Seriously. I was actually pretty frustrated. Didn’t I already do this? I mean I didn’t love this word the first time around, and now I have a second key. I never even gave the first one away. 

 

I moved on to squad lead in October 2020 and packed one of the NEEDED keys with me, although I hadn’t worn either of them in a couple of months.

 

In month one of squad leading the Lord made it clear that it was time for me to wear it again. 

 

And so, reluctantly, I put the key back on and began wrestling with this word all over again. But this time, I felt like I had so much more ownership over it. This time I felt more confident. This time I at least had the groundwork for believing I was NEEDED. 

 

 

This time I believed I was needed, and this grew into a belief that I was not only needed, but also wanted. (With lots of encouragement from the sweet participants of G-squad).

 

 

This time I was stretched to learn and understand just how much I NEEDED the Lord. Maybe the key wasn’t just about me, but rather actually about Him.

About how much He is NEEDED.

How much I need Him. 

 

 

This time as a squad leader the Lord reminded me that I am needed to help others unlock what they already carry. 

 

I felt lead to give the key to one of my participants for several days but kept hesitating. One day that participant was talking to my co-leader. I was in-and-out of the room as I was in the midst of conversations with other participants. But the Lord paused me and made it abundantly clear in that moment – give it to her. 

 

I have since had the pleasure to walk alongside her as she figures out what it means to be NEEDED. I have been able to hear revelations from the Lord about what this key means to her. And I chuckle when she is frustrated with the word because I remember so very well how frustrated I started out. 

 

I’m home from squad leading now, and I still have one more key that says NEEDED so I guess the story isn’t completely done, but it is all that is written so far. 

 

 

 

With love,

Kayla