Kelly Tough E-Book

Erin Kelly

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 247

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Do not let the title Kelly Tough fool you. This is not a "be all you can be, no pain–no gain" story. Toughness is overrated. And being Kelly Tough, well, you are about to find out what that really means and why it just might matter to you. Kelly Tough is a story of love and hope: a love between a father and a daughter—Buffalo Bill's former quarterback, Jim Kelly, and his oldest daughter Erin. Erin shares a deeply personal account of the love a family can have for each other during the darkest times, and a greater love that a heavenly Father has for you. Whatever circumstance or heartbreak you find yourself overwhelmed by right now, it is not the end of the story. In fact, it just might be one of the greatest chapters as you, like the Kelly's, find strength in weakness, hope in the midst of heartache, and joy in spite of suffering.

Leseprobe

“When you play in the NFL, you’re part of a bigger family. That’s what Jim Kelly and his children are: family! I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to see firsthand the relationship that Jim and Erin have. This book is about that and so much more. Reading this will encourage you and hopefully as a result will strengthen the relationships you have with the people you love most.”

—DAN MARINO, NFL Hall of Fame, Special Advisor to CEO and President of Miami Dolphins

“I have known the Kelly Family for many years and have witnessed what it looks like to be “Kelly Tough” on and off the football field. However, what I have learned through watching Jim and his daughter Erin during Jim’s cancer fight far eclipses the best of the best. This book is an account of what it takes to live with courage in the midst of some of life’s most difficult circumstances. Well done, Erin! Your NFL family is proud of you.”

—BILL POLIAN, 2015 NFL Hall of Fame Enshrinee and ESPN NFL Analyst

“The expression Kelly Tough has become like a brand unto itself. And no one epitomizes that more than 19-year-old Erin Kelly, the firstborn child of Jim and Jill Kelly. Beautiful like her mother and feisty like her father, Erin writes eloquently and intimately about faith, family and football, a cliché expression for so many but one that she embraces with all the gusto of a Jim Kelly fist pump. I’ve always believed that if you want to truly learn about people look at how their kids turn out. Erin Kelly is a Hall of Fame daughter and sister and her stories and insights will touch and inspire you.”

—ANDREA KREMER, multi-award-winning journalist

“Kelly Tough is a beautiful, true, imperfect love story. It’s a study in toughness made of more than sheer grit, but the inner kind that turns regular people into warriors. With raw honesty, the Kellys have taken their trademark family strength and turned it into a paperback jewel of hard-earned wisdom for the reader. I’ve cheered and cried and learned with every page. This book will move people. It has moved me.”

—LISA WHITTLE, speaker, author of {w}hole and I Want God

“We have watched Erin Kelly grow from a beautiful, caring, young girl to a soldier. This young woman became a soldier while wearing her “Kelly Tough” armor. She fought bravely when her father was weak and in great pain while battling cancer. Wouldn’t we all be so blessed to have a daughter who would abandon the frivolity and innocence of youth to crawl through the trenches, to go all-in and battle for us? Erin did this while simultaneously keeping the faith—not only keeping it, but growing in it. How beautiful is that? Kelly Tough is a read for everyone, everywhere, and at anytime. You will turn over the last page of this book feeling deeply inspired and armed to battle for the people you love most.”

—NFL Hall of Famer THURMAN THOMAS and PATTI THOMAS

“Becoming friends with the Kelly family over the last few years has been a true inspiration, not only to the two of us, but to the entire faculty, staff, and student body of Liberty University. We are proud that Erin Kelly, the older daughter of Jim and Jill Kelly, chose to attend this university. We have watched her mature into an articulate young lady who has demonstrated to so many others how to courageously face life’s trials and tribulations with faith, dignity, and optimism. Jim and Jill exhibit these same traits and I believe their story—as told by Erin—will give you strength for your own life’s journey, no matter how difficult your circumstances might be.”

—JERRY FALWELL (president of Liberty University) and MRS. BECKI FALWELL

“From that first week as friends at a high school football camp…all the way through being teammates for nine years with the Buffalo Bills…and from a continuing close friendship after our football days… Every step of the way I can tell you that two things come to mind when I think about Jim: family and toughness. At every stage of his life this is his story, his mark in life. That’s why it is no surprise that “Kelly Tough” is the perfect family slogan/motto/vision for the entire Kelly family. This book, written by Jim’s firstborn daughter, Erin, is an inspiring family legacy that gives flesh and blood to what Kelly Tough is all about. Through reading this book, you will be blessed by the faithfulness of God and encouraged to see His hand at work in your life.”

—FRANK REICH, offensive coordinator, San Diego Chargers and former NFL quarterback

“Kelly Tough” became a household phrase in the last year as many in America watched and supported Jim Kelly during his second battle with cancer. Now in the book, Kelly Tough, readers will be encouraged to find that this kind of toughness isn’t just a Kelly thing, but a way of life for all of us. We’ve known Jim for years. He’s tough, determined, and stout-hearted. But to know his daughter and read about her courage in action as she stepped up to care for her dad, that’s something admirable that we might all aspire to emulate. Yet, as you’ll discover when you read this book, it’s not about the Kellys at all but about finding strength and courage in the midst of life’s trials. Well done!”

—MIKE GREENBERG and MIKE GOLIC from Mike & Mike on ESPN

Kelly Tough

Live Courageously by Faith

Copyright © 2015 Erin Kelly and Jill Kelly

Published by BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

www.broadstreetpublishing.com

ISBN: 978-1-4245-5018-0 (print)

ISBN: 978-1-4245-5019-7 (e-book)

Authors are represented by The Burson Agency, Nashville, Tennessee.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless noted, all Scripture is from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Chris Garborg at www.garborgdesign.com.

Typesetting and interior by Katherine Lloyd at www.TheDESKonline.com.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

Printed in the United States of America

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to the two toughest people I know. To the boy who never spoke a word but demonstrated strength beyond comprehension: Hunter Boy. You will forever be my hero. I miss you more than words can say. To my daddy: I love you so much and want you to know that your struggle was not wasted. As I watched you in the midst of your battle, I witnessed strength displayed in and through your life like never before—God’s strength. I will never forget what it means to be Kelly Tough!

CONTENTS

Foreword

Letter from Jim Kelly

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter 1:  Growing Up Kelly

Chapter 2:  Hunter

Chapter 3:  The Rookie Season

Chapter 4:  Love You More

Chapter 5:  Forgiveness and the Haters

Chapter 6:  Jack Daniels, Saint Anne’s Bone, and Jesus

Chapter 7:  Greatness Beyond the Gridiron

Chapter 8:  Every Tear Tells a Story

Pictures

Chapter 9:  Not Afraid to Die

Chapter 10:  Back to the 716

Chapter 11:  Why, God?

Chapter 12:  Waiting

Chapter 13:  The Greater Miracle

Chapter 14:  Goodness Beyond Our Circumstances

Appendix A:  About Hunter’s Hope and Krabbe Leukodystrophy

Appendix B:  The Romans Road

About the Authors

Acknowledgements

FOREWORD

Erin Kelly and her mom, Jill, certainly picked a strange person to write the foreword for an inspirational book out of the head of an inspirational young person. I have spent all of ninety minutes in Erin’s company. Usually, there is some great and close professional or personal relationship that leads to someone writing the foreword for a book. But when the Kelly family reached out to ask me to do this, it took me two seconds to think about it and blurt out, “Of course I’ll do it!”

I’m a pretty big believer in first impressions. In my twenty-five years at Sports Illustrated, I’ve been in the presence of a lot of famous and not-so-famous people in the sports world, and I can tell a lot about most of them from the first couple of minutes we’re together. I remember in 1995 when I met Brett Favre, who, at the time, wasn’t BRETT FAVRE yet, and I introduced myself and told him I’d be in town for a week to do a story on a week in the life of the Green Bay Packers. Without a second’s hesitation, he said, “I guess Drew Bledsoe’s not making any news this week.’’ (Apparently Favre felt ignored by the East Coast press at the time.) Then he said whatever time I needed, whenever I needed it, just let him know, and he’d be there for me. First impressions were exactly right. He was blunt and honest, and there for me all week. We had three or four long conversations at his home and a couple of long days in quarterback meetings at the facility.

Anyway, back to Erin. I met her when her dad, Jim Kelly, the famous quarterback, was lying in Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, prepping to start what would be a brutal round of chemotherapy and radiation for cancer of the jaw and face. She was in the room with us, quiet mostly, as Jim talked about the difficult trial he faced over the coming months.

At one point, lying there in the bed, weary, he turned his head to Erin and said: “When you’re going through pain, you’re what?”

No hesitation.

“Kelly Tough,’’ she said.

When Jim spoke, no one in the family wanted pity. There were no tears—even though everyone in that family knew how the leader of the family was on the precipice of survival. There was only the dogged determination that the old man had.

But there was something else in the room that Sunday, something—is this actually a smart word to use?—cuddly about the family. Erin personified it. When I finished speaking with Jim, I went to another room on the floor with Erin and her mom and asked her about an Instagram picture she’d posted a week earlier, of her and her dad together in his hospital bed, watching the Syracuse NCAA basketball tournament game. Jim, as weak as a pup. Erin, strong for her dad, and devoted.

“We’re a sports family,’’ Erin said, shrugging. “I just wanted to hang out with him. I liked the photo, because it shows the realness of our family. It’s the raw truth of what he’s going through.”

Isn’t that what we all want from the people we love—the ability for them to see us as we are, and to love us just as much in the best and brightest of times and in the lowest and most troubled of times? Erin watched thousands give her dad a standing ovation when he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and she’s seen over the years how he’s been treated as a deity in western New York because of his career as a Buffalo Bill. And now, in the tough times, there she is, taking time off from her new life, as a Liberty University student a day’s drive away, to cuddle with the old man.

“He’s my buddy,’’ she said, matter-of-factly.

That’s a long way around to my point: My first impression of Erin Kelly is a very good one. She is mature beyond her years. She has gotten great training on spirituality and the real world from her parents. She has a very strong core belief that she’s not in control of this ship, and her father isn’t either—God is. And whatever you feel about religion or your beliefs, there is something so redeeming about a person who is driven by a great conscience and a spirit of giving. All of that was present in my first impression of Erin Kelly. When I left the hospital that day, I remember thinking, This world needs more Erin Kellys. Thousands of them.

One other thing about Erin. She has a conviction about her dad that I hope all children can have about their parents. There is a dogged faith in God, and her father, that is both sweet and empowering as she faces her dad’s illness the same way Jim Kelly faced Lawrence Taylor.

Her last words to me that day in the New York hospital: “He will fight this till his last breath. He’s a Kelly.”

She is too.

Peter King

Sports Illustrated and ESPN sportswriter and author

LETTER FROM JIM KELLY

Dear Erin,

Sometimes it’s hard for a strong man to be gentle or a tough guy to be tender. But me, I kind of don’t know how to be anything other than tough. I suppose I may have lived the expression “tough love” before it became a cliché.

As a young boy growing up in East Brady, Pennsylvania, your grandparents (my mom and dad) and my five brothers made toughness a way of life. It wasn’t even like I had a choice in the matter; it was as natural as rolling out of bed in the morning. Pops was a boxer in the Navy, and although he’s fairly small in stature, he boasted a strength that kept me in check when rebellion called my name. In fact, there were times he made the blitzing linebackers I faced in my pro football career look like the tooth fairy! And he made it very clear that his sons were Kelly boys, and that our Irish last name carried with it a reputation that meant something.

Although Dad was the heavy hand in the house, my mother was actually the iron lynchpin that held it all together. It’s hard to believe she’s been gone now for almost nineteen years. I miss her every day and wish you could have known her. And even though I didn’t realize it at the time, I would have to say that Kelly toughness was most vividly exemplified through my mother. She was tough! To put up with the shenanigans of six rambunctious boys with skyrocketing testosterone levels, she had to be. Oddly, it was in the midst of Mom’s weakness and frailty that I began to really learn what true strength is all about. Mom suffered from emphysema for years and lived on oxygen and breathing treatments until her last breath. Even in the midst of suffering she rarely complained. And though it may defy stereotype, that’s truly when I learned to understand what it means to be Kelly Tough—through watching my aged mother’s strength in her weakness.

Then my only son, your little brother, Hunter, was born and everything changed. He was the protégé who would follow in his father’s footsteps. He was supposed to beat all the records and pile up more stats and accolades than his daddy ever achieved. He was destined for greatness beyond anything I could’ve ever hoped for or imagined for him. Hunter was going to be the hero. He was and he still is, as you know, but in a way that none of us ever expected.

After being diagnosed with the fatal genetic disease at four months of age that we thought would take him by age two, what a battle his life became. We watched Hunter suffer every single day of his eight and a half amazing years of life. We all watched so helplessly as he fought every hour of every day. And yet, with each and every battle, our Hunter Boy displayed courage like I’ve never witnessed before. Through the strength I saw in Hunter’s weakness, again I learned what it looks like to be Kelly Tough. I witnessed firsthand what it means to walk by faith and not by sight through watching your mom care for our son. Yes, Hunter achieved more in his short life than I will ever achieve in the days the Good Lord gives me here on this earth.

When I see the bumper stickers around town and hash tags on social media; when I hear fans shout, “Kelly Tough,” amid the roar at Ralph Wilson Stadium, I’m ever mindful that although toughness is my trademark, I’ve come to learn through suffering that weakness and humility are of greater worth in God’s sight. It is in my weakness that God is strong, not my strength or ability to take a hit and still score. Because of His power and victory, through Him, in my weakness I am more than a conqueror—over defeat, cancer, and death.

I’m deeply humbled by what you have written in this book. You are an amazing young woman of God destined to do great things in this generation for God’s glory. But you still have a lot to learn and more living to do. As your father, I hope and pray that you will remember what God has done in the midst of our family’s greatest heartbreaks. I hope that the true meaning of what it is to be “Kelly Tough” will be displayed in your life so that all will see and know that God can and will do immeasurably more than all we could ever ask or imagine.

And although you may be a girl, I hope that when you have children someday you’ll teach them the Kelly football grip and how to post up and school the boys on the basketball court—like I taught you. But, more importantly, I hope that when you go through the valley, with its sense of despair and defeat, you’ll remember all that God has carried you through thus far and that He will continue to uphold you and be your strength. Oh, and lastly…Erin Marie, you’re a Kelly; don’t ever forget what that means.

I love you,

Daddy

INTRODUCTION

I’d rather this book never existed. Or maybe I should restate that and say cancer wasn’t supposed to be part of my story. Our family experienced the heart-shattering loss of my younger brother, Hunter, in 2005. When you go through something like that, you kind of assume you’ve been through the worst and that the other shoe dropped when the first one did. But that’s not the case with our family. No, we’ve not ventured into the kind of valley of death that Job did (thank God), but we’ve had a tough go of it over the last decade or so. And it’s been hard—really hard.

As the older daughter of an NFL Hall of Famer and legend, I’m going to share some of the darkest moments and brightest miracles of my life with you as I watched my father, who won countless battles on the gridiron, battle an enemy bigger and stronger than any he met on the field—cancer.

But that’s not really what this story is about.

Oh, and don’t let the title fool you, this isn’t by any stretch of the imagination a “be all you can be, no pain, no gain” type story. Toughness is overrated. Trust me—I’ve seen it up-close-and-personal. And being Kelly Tough, well, you’ll have to continue reading to understand what that really means and why it just might matter to you and your story.

What you’re about to read is a love story.

A love between a father and his daughter.

And a greater love between your heavenly Father and you.

Yes, you.

If this were just my story then I’d suggest you set this book down now and let it collect dust on your nightstand or bookcase shelf. Like my story, there’s more to your story than you ever imagined or dreamed possible. Maybe just the thought of that seems impossible, especially now in the midst of what you’re going through. But whatever circumstance or heartbreak you find yourself overwhelmed by right now, I promise you that it’s not the end of the story.

In fact, it just might be one of the greatest chapters of your life. You might not see it or believe it now, but someday you will. And maybe that someday will be the day you read the last page of this book. Because as I already mentioned, this isn’t just my story; it’s yours too.

One quick thing before we move on. At the end of each chapter I share what I have called “by faith,” a summary of sorts for you to ponder as well as a few quotes and some verses I really like from the Bible that I feel compliment the content shared in the chapters.

Like I said in the beginning, I’d rather this book didn’t exist. But now that it does, I am so thankful for all that God has done in the midst of these pages. I trust that He will do a work in your life from the moment you lift the cover until the time it is placed back on the shelf or into someone else’s hands.

With love,

Erin

P.S. For the sake of continuity and a better reading experience, and since I teamed up with my mother to write this book, there are a few moments that we decided to share in chapter 6 where I was not present to experience, but my mother was. She shared with me the details of what happened, and rather than explain these moments through her voice, we decided to keep them in mine. The funny thing is, after she told me about them, I felt the same way she did. Like mother, like daughter.

This was done, and recorded, in order to encourage God’s people in all ages to trust Him in the greatest straits.—Matthew Henry

Sometimes the victory isn’t in the winning or the losing, but in the willingness to join the fight regardless of the odds, or the fear.

PROLOGUE

The distance that divided us stood like a towering wall between me and the hug I ached to give my dad.

A gray and grim sky shrouded Jerusalem, ushering in a cold and dreary day that cast a sullen damper on our trip. It was Friday, March 14, 2014, spring break my freshman year at Liberty University. Mom and I were on a study tour in Israel with a group of students and their parents. We were only able to use our phones for a short time during the day, and with the time change being so significant, the window to communicate with family back home was brief at best.

Our guide had just led us into what was thought to be the place where Pontius Pilate confronted Jesus. As we made our way with the group over to where a presentation would soon begin, my mom felt her phone vibrate. Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled it out and peered into the screen. “That’s weird. Uncle Danny is calling me,” she murmured, pivoting to step away and answer the call. She waved me on to continue with the group. I wanted to hear what our guide had to say, but I was distracted and concerned. I knew my dad’s younger brother, Uncle Danny, wasn’t calling to just say hi. Hanging toward the back of the group, I kept an eye on my mom while trying to politely eavesdrop on her conversation. Fear-filled thoughts raced through my mind as a growing sense of dread cast a shadow over my heart. Why is Uncle Danny calling? I wondered uneasily. Something must be wrong back home for him to call us. He knows we’re in Israel.

At this point, the only presentation I was listening to was my mother’s as my anxiety began to bourgeon into alarm. I continued to wonder, worry, and watch as she moved over to a private space and stood in the corner. By the look on her face and the way she shifted her gait in circles, I knew something was wrong. Uncle Danny wouldn’t have called us unless it was serious, and her body language had me thinking the worst.

Almost a year before our trip, my dad had been diagnosed with squamous-cell carcinoma of the upper jawbone. In early June 2013 he had extensive oral surgery to remove the cancer. The doctors said they had gotten all the margins and that Daddy was cancer free. Although he continued to get MRIs and scans after surgery, the doctors were confident that it was gone, and we were banking on what they said. The nightmare was over—or so we thought. Before we left for the Holy Land, my dad had been suffering severe pain in his upper jaw and cheek, but we had no idea why. Unfortunately, Uncle Danny had confirmed what my mom’s expression had told me…the cancer was back!

The news was shocking, and I was devastated. It’s every child’s deepest fear. I didn’t know how bad it was, how much pain he was in, or what the prognosis was. Yet as hard as it was not knowing, I found peace in that moment knowing that God knew, and I chose to rest in the reality that He loves my father even more than I do. And although I ached to be near my dad, the only way I felt like I could do that was through prayer, even from half a world away.

Our tour group eventually made its way over to what is historically known as the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall. Among the most intriguing tourist attractions in the Holy Land, it is located in the Old City of Jerusalem in the Jewish Quarter, at the foot of what Israel refers to as the Temple Mount. This area, a remnant of the foundation of the second temple from the time of Jesus, is considered the holiest site in Judaism, and the Wailing Wall itself draws multitudes who visit it to pray. With tremendous archeological and religious value, it is regarded as both a secular and sacred treasure that is frequented by tourists and residents alike. Those who come to the Wailing Wall frequently write prayer requests on slips of paper and place them deep in its cracks and crevices. Deeply venerated, portions of the wall are historic remnants of the timeworn barricade that once encircled the temple in ancient days. Thus, it has been the destination of spiritual wayfarers for centuries, captivating pilgrims as far back as the fourth century.

As intrigued as I was with the tour, after hearing the news about my dad, heaviness hung over my heart. It was cold, cloudy, and pouring down rain, and the line to get in trailed far from the entrance. We all huddled under umbrellas in small groups as close to one another as we possibly could while we waited patiently to get in. Although the wait was long, I was distracted. I wanted to talk to Daddy, hear his voice, and just know that he was going to be okay. The struggle to engage in all that was going on around me was brutal. Here I was visiting and studying in one of the most amazing places in the world—the ground where God, the person of Jesus Christ, literally walked and talked, raised the dead, and healed the sick—and all I could think about was my dad.

There were numerous armed guards at the security entrance to get into the Wailing Wall. In order to enter we had to walk through an area that looked very much like what you would see at a security checkpoint in major airports in the United States. All of our belongings were screened, and we each had to walk single file past an interrogation-type table where armed guards stood, each giving us a look that makes you feel guilty of something. It was actually quite scary. You could literally feel the tension and the war between two worlds—light and darkness—driven by the longstanding hatred between the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The obvious apprehension and uneasiness that overshadowed our group’s countenance left no doubt that we were a bunch of American tourists.

Once we made it through security, we didn’t have a lot of time, so our guide explained the protocol to follow if we wanted to pray at the wall. Of course, you don’t go to the Wailing Wall and not pray. And on this particular day, I had one prayer on my mind and heart—one man who needed the healing that Jesus performed when He had walked where we were thousands of years prior to that very moment. It didn’t take me long to grab a pen and rip a piece of paper out of my journal and start writing.