Cassie Leland and sisters Zoe and Abbey pose on the Bay Island shores of Sarasota, Florida Aug. 13. Instead of going out on the water they decided to relax on the beach for the day. “That summer with both of them in my favorite place, was absolutely priceless,” Leland said. | Photo submitted by Cassie Leland

An unchanging God in a changing world

Sophomore at Bethel University shares how a season of change impacted her freshman year.

By Kylie Nybakken

Cassie Leland pushed her way through the Monson Dining Hall turnstile with a million questions. She clutched her iPhone tightly, her parents’ FaceTime call still fresh in her mind. Life had changed so much for Leland already, and now this?

Minnesota is all Leland has known.

It’s where her parents welcomed Cassie and her sisters — triplets — in October 2002.

Where she gave her life to the Lord on a Noah’s ark mat at Grace Lutheran Church.

Where she spent 18 years playing soccer in the yard with her sisters Zoe and Abbey.

Cassie Leland and sisters Zoe and Abbey enjoy a summer day in Minnesota June 2020. The triplets decided to take a photo together during their last summer before college. “It was the best summer,” Leland said. | Photo submitted by Cassie Leland

Leland’s whole life was familiar, until September 2020 when she and her sisters left for college. While Cassie remained in Minnesota, Zoe was in Arizona, Abbey in Virginia and now her parents revealed their plans to move to Florida.

Adjusting to this news was a disaster. Nothing felt familiar. Despite growing up in a Christian home, graduating from Heritage Christian Academy and attending a Christian university, Leland wanted to give up on faith.

She credits her roommate at Bethel University, Caroline Hogg, for reminding her of the importance of a relationship with God.

“I had to learn a hard lesson of God’s timing. I wanted everything to be on my terms and I was just expecting goodness and faithfulness to pour out of that.” -Cassie Leland, sophomore marketing finance major

“I’ve definitely seen a change in Cassie’s spiritual journey,” Hogg said. Seeing how faithfully Hogg served the Lord motivated Leland to pursue her faith again.

“I had to learn a hard lesson of God’s timing,” Leland said. “I wanted everything to be on my terms and I was just expecting goodness and faithfulness to pour out of that.”

Nearly a year later, Leland walks the halls of Bethel knowing home can be in multiple places. She made a home in Minnesota, she made a home at Bethel, and she’s come to love her home in Florida too.

“I realized if I trust the Lord and lean into Him, good things happen,” Leland said.