Certain people in your life impact you from the very moment you meet them. You form an immediate connection which feels as though they have always been apart of you. There a handful of individuals I personally have this divine relationship with. The McCaslands 100% fall into this category.
My connection to the McCasland family goes all the way back to my 12th summer. I would spend a week of my summers with my cousins the Sheppards in Midland, which just so happened to be where Grant McCasland was coaching. It also just so happened that the Sheppards and the McCaslands were best friends. My first impression of Grant and Cece will forever stay with me: so full of life and joy, radiating Christ through and through.
When I transferred to Baylor in the fall of 2011 I knew not a soul in either Waco or on campus. It was a choice I made completely out of faith and in full peace. Little did I know the Lord had a great reward waiting for me on the other side of this decision. Grant had also just transferred his family to Baylor, accepting an assistant coaching position for the men’s basketball team. My cousin Emmy told me about their move when she heard I was transferring and encouraged me to reach out to Cece. I will always remember sitting in my car outside of my first Baylor home talking to Cece on the phone for almost an hour. Even though we really didn’t know each other, it felt as if we had always been friends. With Grant being new in his job and recruitment being the name of the game, Cece was in need of someone to help their family meet daily needs. Oh and not to mention they had four kids under the age of seven, with the youngest barely a year old. Nothing excited me more than an opportunity to live life with this family.
When I graduated from Baylor two years ago, saying goodbye to this dear family was heartbreaking. And in the year to follow there was an emptiness in my life that they had once filled. Last summer though, the Lord exhibited faithfulness to me again by reuniting me with the Macs. I landed my current position in Baylor Admissions and needed a temporary home for my first month in town. Grant and Cece opened their home to me and we belonged to each other once more.
This post has been very difficult for me to write, because yet again I have had to bid my McCasland family adieu. In April, Grant was named the head coach for Arkansas State’s men’s basketball team, a great honor that no one less could deserve. I have seen him and his sweet family work harder than anyone I know to achieve this dream and folks, our God is good.
I often have moments where I step back and realize that our Lord is so very faithful and the McCaslands are literal, physical evidence of His goodness to me. Waco has always felt like my home and I completely attribute that feeling to their presence here. Two of my biggest unknowns have revolved around moving to this town and I know without a doubt not having their family here to lean on, and even live with, would have meant a much more daunting adjustment for my heart. Their home has been a retreat for me; from the hectic days, the hard moments and the lonely ones. The radiance of Christ in each of their wonderful faces has pulled me from darkness, healing some of my hurts and ushering me further into His truth. They welcomed me with open arms into some of their most private places and from day one I knew that I was family. While not by blood, I consider Amaris, Jett, Jersey and Beckett my first set of nieces and nephews; I will always love those babies as such. I am filled to the brim with gratitude over how they allowed me to know them truly, how they trusted me fully and believed in me always.
While goodbyes are never fun or easy (and unfortunately for us, this is round 2), I know Waco’s loss is Arkansas’s gain and I am so proud for my McCasland family. This is such an exciting time! The Lord is using their hearts to usher in His Kingdom and the Jonesboro community will be deeply blessed.
Forever holding onto my McCasland memories.
