38 • NOVEMBER 2023
Before & After Brandye Boyd’s Story Sarah Rein You know those moments in life when all seems to be going well? There are no major issues at work, the laundry is caught up, the children are getting good grades and staying out of trouble, and more meals were eaten at home than out that week. You have that brief, illusory moment in which you think... “I might actually have life under control.” In her previous life, Brandye Boyd would have treasured that feeling. A self-proclaimed busybody who thrived on having things together, she was the woman many of us aspire to be—an involved mom to three young kids, leader of her church’s ministry to young mothers, and an adjunct college professor with a master’s degree. The first part of Brandye’s story sounds like a life many of us would have been glad to have. She was fortunate to grow up in a happy home in Clinton - with a mother who put the needs of Brandye and her brother first, a stepfather who treated them as his own, involved grandparents, and a church family. As a regular churchgoer, she knew about Jesus from an early age and, though she considered herself a Christian, she isn’t sure she understood what it meant to relinquish control of her life to God. After receiving her degree in education from Mississippi College in 1996, Brandye began teaching school and coaching a cheerleading squad at Byram Middle School and moved into an apartment with her best friend from high school. Young and single, Brandye was enjoying her freedom. When she met her current husband, Joey, she did not relish the thought of settling down. The night they met, Brandye was at a Halloween costume party at her apartment complex. She had recently been in a car accident that left her with a broken femur and was on crutches. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, her roommate decided to make the most of Brandye’s misfortune by dressing them in coordinating patient and nurse costumes. After she’d changed out of her costume, Joey, who worked at the apartment complex, approached her to ask for a date and comment on her costume choice. Brandye, who was savoring her newfound adult life, was not eager to accept. “I thought he seemed like a cute, good guy, but I wasn’t ready for a relationship,” Brandye shared. Eventually, however, Joey’s persistence won her over, and they went out for lunch. Brandye’s intuition had been correct, and the two have been inseparable ever since. When they got married just a year later, both agreed they wanted to grow up and make some life changes. They moved to Rankin County because of the excellent school district, and Brandye decided to pursue a master’s degree in education. Joey began a new career with BellSouth. Their first order of business after moving was to choose a church to attend. These were the days before your first thought was to Google church options. “We opened The Clarion-Ledger to the Places to Worship section and saw that Pinelake was near our house,” she recalls laughing. And that church is where they found their community - the people they were going to do life with. Hometown MADISON • 39