Byrd's Graduation Journey

This blog will not only be lengthy but tearful as i blog about our graduation experience. I say "our" because it's not only the graduate that had to put in work. They say it takes a village sometimes, in our case it took our entire tribe but ultimately had it not been for God, Byrd would not have made it.

So shout-out to God who literally made all this possible. Without You this goal would not have been attainable. Thank You Lord for being the giver of all good things, and the giver of peace to sustain us through the tough situations. Thank You for Your hand of protection over the long haul of her high school career. Thank You for being her source of wisdom and knowledge.

Of course shout-out to Byrd, your hard work paid off girl. Your drive, your willingness, your determination, your hunger for success pushed you to the edge and now the fruits of your labor has produced your victory. [insert hand clap emojis] 
To God be ALL the glory!

Not only was the road a struggle but we learned a lot from this journey. At the beginning of her senior year with no finish line in sight, it would've been easy to slack off, lose sight of the goal, get off track, get distracted or simply give up. 
Thankfully that was not the case. 

I recall the first of many meetings to be had with her counselor. Her counselor who wanted nothing to do with her, simply wanted to write her off as a failure without any attempts to help her. I praise God for that negativity, it not only opened her eyes, it pushed her harder to succeed. Instead of the alternative we fought to keep her at her regular school knowing it would be a fight to the death.

With prayer and supplication we laid our requests for a safe journey at the foot of the cross. As parents we knew without a doubt that she would make it. All those nights of lectures (a few loud ones too) and staying up late for homework, the many trips to library or friends house to use WiFi (lol), the many denied requests to socialize in an effort to ensure scholastic success. I praise God she did it. I praise God she was obedient enough to honor our discipline

Looking back, remembering the tears, the words, the fights, the hectic schedule, the long hours, the late nights, the morning rituals, the morning devotions, the fervent prayers before school, dividing lunch money lol, the 7-11 runs and the many other routines during this school year i'm going to miss. As stressful and troublesome as it seemed, i'm going to miss all that with you Byrd. I think?!?

As they famously say to all high school graduates, it's not the end, it's just the beginning. I say the best is yet to come for you. I know you are enjoying your leisure time with your squad. I'm definitely not holding you back. At the same time, realize what God just did for you, where you came from, how far He's brought you and where He wants to take you.

With that in mind, PUSH YOURSELF to BETTER YOURSELF! As we tell all our kids Byrd, Bay and Bubz, take every opportunity you get, seize the moment and fly without looking back. Our goal as #teamSialoi has always been to nurture our kids, raise our kids in fear of God but to also push them to succeed. The reason so many kids fail, is because so many parents don't plan. Each of our kids have dreams, it is our goal as parents to make it a reality. We have a future Doctor, a Military Officer and a Leader in our hands, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that, as God wills it, 

our kids will make it. Our kids have picked up on our motto that God is the key to all things!

We ask for continued prayers for all our kids, Byrd especially as she faces the crossroads. We've accomplished one goal and on to the next we go. Here's to a bright future for Byrd!

Enjoy all of our memories....of a journey completed