On April 16 I got an amazing new nephew named Benjamin and could't wait to come to Texas to visit him and celebrate my other precious nephew Jackson's second birthday the first week of May. My sister and I planned it this way so I would get to make the most of the trip from North Carolina to Texas and get to hold him and play with him more when I got here. After that, I was going to fly back to NC to start my new nannying job, and try to make it back down to Texas one more time before meeting them in Washington DC in June before they flew back to Chad to continue their work there. We had a plan, and it was a good one.
Then everything shifted. I started getting messages about how Benjamin was being air-flighted to San Antonio and that there was something wrong. North Carolina had never felt so far away. My visit in May ended up being part birthday celebration, part waiting in the hospital while Benjamin had the first of the three open heart surgeries he will need to survive and thrive. It was then that I realized that going back to NC felt...wrong. So, two months ago today I decided I wanted to move back to Texas. A few weeks later, my dad flew up to NC and loaded everything I own into a u-haul and drove it for two days back to Kerrville while I followed in my car. We then unloaded it all into the apartment my mom created for me in the ground level of their home and I started a new life here.
I began to try to figure out what life would look like here while everyone adjusted to the new normal. My parents went from having a daughter in Africa and another in NC, to having one in their home, and one a street away. My sister and brother in law went from being missionaries in Africa and parents to one awesome kid, to parents of two amazing boys, one of whom has never been to the home they didn't know they would be staying in here. I went from living with my best friend and being a nanny to making a whole new set of friends in an amazing job working with some amazing kids who challenge me and inspire me to be strong everyday. God has done some crazy things in our lives in the past 3 1/2 months so today I am celebrating.
I am celebrating the fact that my nephew has had a successful second surgery today that will help him be stronger for his next open heart surgery. I am celebrating that I have a dad that, while being a pastor and working to get his doctorate, will come do heavy lifting and drive for over 24 hours to make sure I am where I need to be (seriously though if you see him, give the man a hug or a high five because that drive was a bear and he was a champ!) I am celebrating the fact that I have a mother who makes a home for me wherever she is and cheers me on in the newness. I am celebrating the fact that I have an amazing sister and brother in law who have shown me how to adjust on the fly while worshipping God in the midst of confusion and pain. I am celebrating the fact that Benjamin has an amazing big brother in Jackson who is learning and growing in exciting ways everyday. I am celebrating all my friends and family who have been on their knees for my family during this time. We feel your prayers and you are making a difference. Thank you thank you for all you have done, are doing, and will do.
This is not where I expected to be at all. Last summer I couldn't picture my life being here and now I can't picture it being anywhere else. If I can tell you one thing that God has proved to me thus far in my 25 years of life it is that, though he may shake and shift the ground you walk upon, he never lets you go. I hope that comforts you in the days to come as many of you are experiencing newness as well. Let me know how I can support you in the days to come and please continue to pray for our sweet Benjamin. If you want more information on him and don't follow them already, check out Mandi and Jake's blog at http://www.thekelleysinafrica.blogspot.com
