Thank You from Haley & Jay

Dear Church Family,

The reception on Sunday, October 1st, was so nice. We feel so honored that such a big deal was made for us. The flowers are still gorgeous, and the cross looks absolutely perfect on our mantel. We have so many memories of PYF all over the house (especially on our carpet) and the cross is the perfect icing on the cake. “Thank you” doesn’t seem enough.

When we made the decision to leave our position as youth leaders, we were torn between sighs of relief and tears of sadness. It was a gut-wrenching decision. These past four years have meant so much to us and to our children, especially Bowen. He has been there since he was a baby, and the kids have always been sweet and tolerant, to say the least. We have so, so many memories.

The youth group has taught us all so much. For instance, Bowen learned at the ripe ole age of one how to pick up girls at Montreat. Now, from what I’ve seen, this could come in pretty handy in about 10 years. They taught Jay that a good night’s sleep before a 10 hour drive is probably a good idea. I learned that big, scary things, armed with video cameras, can be lurking in your garage at any time, day or night. And you always need twice as much food as you think you need. Ava learned early on that boys are fun and, when they hold you by your feet, that means they like you. Likewise, she taught them that when you hold a baby by her feet, she’ll likely spit up in your face. Most importantly, Jay and I learned that kids are complicated, but not so much that you should be scared to spend time with them. We learned that kids are definitely misunderstood, but, as the grown-ups, we just need to try to be understanding. We learned that the good always outweighs the bad, every time. And kids have wonderful surprises up their sleeves. We’ve all learned a lot. I hope along the way we’ve taught them a few things, too.

When we started this journey four years ago, we had no idea what we were doing. Thankfully, God was there with us and so was this congregation. We are all so blessed to be part of such a supportive church family. We had so much help along the way. It truly “takes a village” to bring up children. When they are baptized into our family, we make a promise to those children that we’ve got their backs. Let’s never forget that promise; it’s a really big one. Zach Hardy is going to be a wonderful PYF leader. Let’s do all we can to make him feel welcome and a part of our church family.

Again, thank you for the lovely reception and the beautiful cross. And thank you for sharing your children with us for these past few years.

With love,

Haley and Jay Williams