I know I keep saying this, but it is absolutely true. Jordan and I wouldn’t be where we are in our lives without the couples I’m highlighting in this series. Another such couple to be mentioned here is Caelen and Austin. In case you missed any of the other couples I’m highlighting here, head to them here: #1, #2, #3, #4.
Caelen is one of the easiest people in my life to celebrate because she is SO GOOD at celebrating her loved ones. Seriously, her gifting level might be genius; that is how in-tune she is with her family and friends. I was lucky enough to meet Caelen before we shared a common group. We know each other through my sister in law, and had met a couple years previously. Caelen and my sister in law are best friends, and I’m lucky Caelen accepted me as her close friend, too.
Jordan will tell you to this day that Austin was easily one of the most inclusive, inviting men in our group to him personally. Especially because Jordan was newer to his faith than the other men in our group, he felt intimated being called to spiritually lead. Austin not only set a great example for leadership attributes but was, for lack of better words, Jordan’s hype man. Honestly, I’ve never met anyone in my life better at hyping up other people or events (except perhaps my 2 year old daughter). He takes “woooo” man to a whole new level. But more importantly, Austin is a hype man where it counts the most: as a husband and a dad.
One thing that was incredibly special to me was sharing my FAVORITE day with Caelen by my side. Caelen used all her spiritual giftings and stood next to me on my wedding day, making sure I felt loved and celebrated. She went above and beyond to celebrate my relationship with Jordan by helping coordinate both my bridal shower and bachelorette party. A favorite memory about Caelen happens to be when she saw Jordan picking me up after volunteering at church for the first time. I hadn’t spoken about our newly developing relationship with her just yet, and when she saw him coming to get me from the Kids’ building at church, she came over and said, “Ummm, who is that?”, then threw in a wink and said he’s cute. I know 😉
If you ask Jordan, he will often tell you he should have had Austin up at the front on our wedding day as well. While I agree, it truly came down to a numbers thing, but God had this in His hand, too. One of Jordan’s favorite memories is that when Austin got to church for the ceremony, he felt the urge to stop and pray for Jordan, and he did so in that moment. Jord felt anxious coming down the aisle and still says this prayer is the only reason he didn’t pass out. For this, I’m super grateful, but it doesn’t beat my favorite Austin memory, which is when following our ceremony, I had requested a milkshake for the party bus from church to The Paseo, and he handed me one right when I got on the bus!
Along with other amazing resources from our church, Austin and Caelen have been one of the greatest examples we’ve had to witness regarding finances and financial health in their relationship. We were really encouraged by them to snowball debt our money as part of our budgeting terms, which to this day, has paid HUGE dividends for us…no pun intended. As far as spiritual journeys, Caelen and I have been able to do a few studies together, and they’re always so insightful. Between these and just the everyday grind, life is so much better with these two in it. We’re so sad (but excited for them) that God called them to live in Tennessee. We will love getting to visit with our daughters, the oldest who is the same age as their daughter. Thank you, Caelen and Austin, for being such amazing friends. We love y’all!
