Tuesday, December 4, 2018

The Crash Landing of 2017

The end of my 2017 year was a rough landing. All within the span of 1 month, I had found out my wife was pregnant, I had the possibility of being kicked out of school, and my grandfather was on hospice. Did I mention that it was also close to finals and I had multiple tests to study for?

First, I was full of excitement and fear when she told me she was pregnant. It was by complete accident and would mean that Lynnie and the baby would only be 16 months apart. We first were apprehensive because our children would be so close together, but this quickly changed to jubilee when we wrapped our minds around the idea. With excited anticipation for our new baby, we were crushed when Kelsey had a miscarriage at 9 weeks.

The week before my finals I received an email that made my heart drop into the darkest pit of my stomach. This e-mail was an alert that I was under investigation for possible cheating. Almost half of my graduating class and I had received the same email. Long story short, a document was shared with me that had some reproducible material for our upcoming test. I never added to or used the document which meant I was found innocent of not cheating. None-the-less it was a very stressful time and a time where I was uncertain of the future and what exactly the investigation would mean for my family.

When I heard my Grandpa Baugh was put on hospice, I was devastated. I was named after my grandfather and have always been proud of him and my name. My hope was to visit him one last time before he passed. Kelsey and I were planning on going home for the holidays once my finals were over. Sadly, he passed away December 6th, 2017; only 8 days before we would fly home. The tender mercy from our Heavenly Father was being able to attend his funeral and be one of his pallbearers.

Even though all these trials and stresses came at once, I could not be more grateful for my Father in Heaven and my angelic wife. I could not have continued without their unwavering support and love for me. I'm truly blessed.