We saw each other for the first time at the National Gathering for our denomination in February. Joel, a church planter and worship leader with Kingdom Story, saw Caitlin serving communion and thought: "That must be the new pastor at First Pres. She's cute!" Caitlin saw Joel in the Texas Presbytery meeting and thought: "Hey, there's someone my age!"—and then continued her conversation with the elders from her church. Through the wonders of modern dating during a pandemic, we met online later that summer. Our first date was on Zoom. By the second date (a walk in the park), Joel knew he was interested. By the end of the third date (dinner in another park), Caitlin realized she had a crush on him—he talked about missional theology and contemplative practices of prayer, and the swoon (though internal) was real. Also, as day turned to dusk, he took off his sunglasses and she saw his eyes for the first time. Wow. Our willingness to swelter outside together through the Houston summer going for walks and bike rides was a sure sign of our interest in one another. Eventually, we reached the newest of relationship milestones: comparing possible COVID exposure vectors and being willing to commit to breathe the same indoor air. It felt like a huge step at the time; now, we're glad we took it. Joel had moved to Houston from LA to help plant Kingdom Story; Caitlin moved here from New England, answering the call to First Pres out of seminary. We like to say that we came from the two coasts and met in the middle. By answering God's call on our lives, we ended up at the same place, at the same time. We're so grateful He had us meet in the middle, here in Houston, TX!

Most proposals unfold over a single day, but Joel planned a proposal WEEK. Caitlin knew that he already had the ring—but it still needed to be a surprise. What a rollercoaster of adrenaline. Joel came up with a series of decoy engagement events (we like to joke that we went out more that week than we had up until that point—thanks, COVID). We went to Houston Zoo Lights; we drove way out of the city to go to In 'N Out (if you know, you know); we went for walks; we tried to have gelato at a (non-existent) place. Everywhere we went, Caitlin was on high alert. Friday was Caitlin's Sabbath. Joel spent most of the day preparing for a post-proposal surprise party in their friend's yard before he picked her up to walk around the Botanic Gardens. After their second time passing a secluded bench by the pond, Joel asked: "Do you want to sit down?" 'This is it!' Caitlin thought. 'We never sit down on walks!' (She had thought 'This is it!' many times before that week and had always been wrong.) Joel reached in his inside coat pocket and pulled out...a thin envelope. As Caitlin started to open the envelope, he reached in his right pocket and pulled out...a small, black, square...Bluetooth speaker. But Caitlin looked down at the letter and saw across the top: "Engagement Song." ('It's happening!') As the opening notes played, she felt peace come over her soul. As time seemed to slow, she started to cry. Joel reached into his left pocket, knelt down, and pulled out...THE RING BOX! as recorded Joel sang the lyrics, "Oh, will you marry me, my love?" Fairly certain a speech was still to come, though the song was still going, Caitlin paused: "Am I supposed to say yes now, or after the song when you ask?" "You can say yes whenever you want to." "Yes, definitely yes!" After the song, still on one knee, Joel did make a speech—but Caitlin was too happy to absorb the words. She said yes again with more words. After calling their families, they headed to celebrate with friends.