Learning to Trust in His Plan: Matt’s Story

Matt Sakeuh couldn’t have asked for a better first year at Taylor University. He made a great group of friends, campus began to feel like home, and he recently attended nationals for track and field this spring—a rare feat for someone just starting their college sports journey.

But Matt’s life probably would have been very different if it weren’t for his Taylor scholarship.

“At the end of my senior year [of high school], I didn’t have any thought of going to college. I didn’t have any money for it. Taylor wasn’t even on my radar,” he said. “But God had other plans for me.”

Matt has always been a multi-talented individual. He’s artistic, outgoing, and likable, and he’s really fast. That last talent was what caught the eye of Track & Field Head Coach Rod Waters, who reached out to Matt and recruited him to run for Taylor.

“It’s just crazy to think how one person who believes in you can change your life,” Matt said. “I don’t know where I would be or who I would be without Coach Waters.”

Matt received a scholarship and this opportunity was just one of many big ways that Matt saw God work through his life this year. Then, not long after he arrived on campus, Matt found something he’d been praying for his whole life: a loving and supportive friend group.

“My family moved around a lot. I went to three different high schools, so I never had that group of friends that so many people have as they grow up,” Matt explained. “I always just prayed for a group of friends that would accept me for who I am and love me and that I could love back and we could just grow together.”

As special as Matt knows his friends are, he also knows there’s just something about Taylor that brings out the goodness in people. “It’s amazing that you can just step on campus and feel like you belong before you even do anything. People genuinely love you and care about you here. There aren’t many places where you see that,” he said. “It’s really a Godly atmosphere.”

And it’s one in which he’s thriving. In addition to going to nationals as a freshman this year, Matt’s 4x400 relay team set a new school record, and Matt got to perform in front of all the students and faculty at Silent Night as part of the TU Dance Vibes. “There’s just so much that I’ve been praying for,” Matt said. “All the things I’ve done so far with God’s help are just insane.”

That’s one thing Matt has learned this year at Taylor: to be patient and to trust God’s plan, even when it’s different than his own. And while it’s still too soon to say what he wants to do after college, Matt knows he’ll take these lessons and values with him wherever he goes.

“What I’ve realized about life is that having a plan is sometimes beneficial for some things, but other times you just have to let God work,” Matt said. “So in the future of my life, I’m going to let God handle it. Wherever He places me, wherever He puts me, I’m going to work, serve, and do the best I can.”