Clinton1123web

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 CLINTON • 15