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Copyright 2021 by Edwards Ventures, LLC
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Worthy
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First ebook edition: July 2021
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All Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV Text Edition: 2016. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
ISBN 978-1-546-01753-0
E3-20210508-JV-NF-ORI
To our parents, whose shoulders we stand on.
There is no us without you.
Over the past four years, weve opened our lives to you via YouTube through our channel, Kaelin and Kyrah. Youve walked with us as weve grown from a couple of teenagers getting married to the parents of two young sons living fifteen hundred miles away from all our friends and family in the midst of a global pandemic. Many of you have laughed with us and cried with us and worried with us. Weve rejoiced and experienced all the ups and downs life has thrown at us. Through it all, weve grown, in every direction, together. Thats what makes us more than just a community. The two of us feel like youve become members of our family.
Around the time we did our first storytime video, we started talking about writing a book. Back then, we thought wed write about how we met and fell in love, all leading up to our dream wedding. We planned to weave our Christian faith into this narrative, especially emphasizing how we waited to have sex until marriage. We planned to call the book Worth the Wait, which seemed like the perfect fit at the time. The book would build up to the moment we said, I do, and close with us headed off into our happily ever after.
A funny thing happened on our way to writing that book, and that funny thing is called life. Six months after we were married, we found out Kyrah was pregnant. The birth of our son Karter changed us more than wed ever thought possible. We were forced to grow up fast after becoming parents. Adding a newborn to the other challenges we faced as a young Christian couple trying to figure out our place in this worldIm surprised we kept it all together. Theres no manual for dealing with the challenges and responsibilities of adulthood. Thats why, when our second son, Kaiser, came along just over a year later, the two of us knew we were no longer the people who had planned to write a fairy-tale romance. We also knew you wanted more than that from us. You deserved the unfiltered truth. Our happily ever after was not the climax of our story, but the beginning. What we have learned about each other and ourselves since we said, I do, has completely transformed us, and continues to do so day after day.
And thats the journey we once again invite you to take with us through the pages of this book. We will take you deeper than we ever could online as you learn the inside story of both the struggles and the victories we never felt completely comfortable sharing on YouTube. The story you are about to read isnt always pretty, but thats the beauty of it. Life never goes the way we expect. Weve learned that the more life has gone off script, the more we have had to rely upon God, who is always at work. This story you are about to read is also unfinished because our little family is still a work in progress. As you read the journey weve taken together thus far, please know that we cant wait to see where God will take us next. Looking back, its hard to believe that it all started outside a portable classroom at Earl Warren Junior High School in Bakersfield, California.
KAELIN:
Back in sixth grade, I played on a little league football team in my hometown of Bakersfield, California. A couple of the guys on the team, Keon and Jaylan, went to a different school. And all they ever talked about was the girls they liked at their school. One person they couldnt stop mentioning was this girl named Kyrah. Anytime I got close to them, all I heard was Kyrah this and Kyrah that. Every once in a while, Jaylan or Keon would mention her friend Arianna, but most of the time it was just Kyrah, Kyrah, Kyrah. Now, I had my own girls in my school I had my eye on, so I didnt think too much about trying to find out more about theirs. However, the more they talked about this girl Kyrah, the more I started to wonder what it was that made her so special.
Fast-forward one year to the first day of junior high. Keon and I ended up in the same school. Not only that, we compared schedules and we had the same English class. The problem was, neither one of us could find it. We were tripping through the halls, looking for this impossible-to-find classroom. It turns out it wasnt even a real classroom but a portable at the back of the school grounds. Apparently, our school was at capacity, so they brought portables in over the summer to make room for everyone. Once we finally figured out where we needed to go, we headed toward the portables. Keon and I were halfway across the blacktop when I saw this girl standing on the ramp leading up to the classroom we were looking for. I could not take my eyes off her. I punched my friend Keon and asked him, Whoa, bro, who is that?
Thats Kyrah, Keon said.
Thats Kyrah!? I said. Thats the girl yall couldnt shut up about last year?
Yeah, man. Thats Kyrah.
Okay Now I get it. Keon, bro, you know you have to introduce me to her, right?
Keon gave me a look like, Why would I ever do that? I aint crazy.
You dont like her, do you? I teased.
No, man, thats Jaylans girl. Were just friends, he shot back.
Well, Jaylan doesnt go here, I said with a shrug, and besides, I just want to be her friend too.
We approached the ramp. The bell was about to ring. I didnt have much time. Kyrah was talking to someone and didnt pay any attention to Keon and me. My mind was racing, thinking of some way to break the ice in case Keon flaked on me. All at once, the girl Kyrah was talking with noticed Keon and shouted his name.
Keon! she yelled.
Arianna! he yelled back. He walked up to her and gave her a hug.
I could tell Arianna and Keon were relieved to see each other.
Hey, Kyrah, Keon said as he gave her a side hug.
I couldnt wait for Keon to introduce me. Im Kaelin, I said as I stuck out my hand. Keon and I play football together and have been friends for years. Its nice to meet you both.
Hi, Kaelin, its nice to meet you, Arianna and Kyrah said at the same time, although Kyrah spoke more softly than Arianna.
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