From Emily's Perspective:

To tell of our story is to tell of the Lord's faithfulness.

We met February of 2022 at the Pine Cove Bluffs. Andy was a part of a 9-month leadership and discipleship program through Pine Cove called the Forge. During these 9 months, he lived at the Bluffs. In February 2022, I went on a staff retreat for the Woods, where we stayed at the Bluffs.

Part of our retreat was to spend Saturday at an arcade/bowling alley called Grand Slam. Andy was invited to join in, and this is where we officially met. When I first saw Andy, I leaned over to my friend Faith & told her "the guy in the BYX shirt was cute." When Andy first met me, he forgot my name! Neither of us were really in a place where we wanted to date, nor did it make sense to start dating anyone, butttt that evening, we ended up sitting across from one another at dinner (by my purposeful doing) and then played games together after we returned to the Bluffs.

That night, Andy asked for my number, and he texted me asking to go on a walk the next morning. I said yes, but was SO nervous! The walk felt effortless and easy-- I for sure had a crush on Andy. I went back to Arkansas that day, and when I said goodbye to Andy, he gave me a sticky note-- the first of many. The next day, Andy calls me telling me that he wants to pursue me and wants to take me on another date. I remember him pursuing me with such clarity, patience, and gentleness.

From then, we start going on dates, while being long distance. It was an odd first few months because he was finishing the Forge, and I was in Arkansas, but we committed to take this day by day and trust where the Lord was leading us. We kept saying "this doesn't make sense," but the Lord knew what he was doing all along.

Summer 2022 we spent the summer in Tyler, TX together as he was on summer staff at the Timbers, and I was at the Woods. In August, I returned to Arkansas where we proceeded to do more long distance, that turned into longer long distance when he moved back to Georgia for 6 months. With lots of FaceTime calls, him driving to see me 13+ hours, and me flying to see him-- we made it work.

We did long distance for a year and half until the end of summer 2023. This summer was a whirlwind, if you know you know. In the midst of a lot of transition for me and instability in my life, I almost broke up with Andy out of fear and distrust in the Lord. But in the Lord's kindness, we didn't break up. Because of the way Andy met me with the most patience, compassion, and grace on the day I almost broke up with him, I have seen such a clear picture of how Jesus treats us. By knowing Andy McCaffrey, I know Christ more and in a deeper way.

When Andy moved to Dallas at the end of this summer, we had some rebuilding to do. We decided to do Merge, a premarital class through our church. This grew us and strengthened us as a couple and as individuals. The months of getting to do day by day in person together has been so sweet, and worth the long distance. In December, Andy and I started looking at rings; in January, he asked for my dad's blessing; and he asked me to marry him on February 17, 2024-- almost 2 years to the day after we met.

Andy proposed at the Bluffs, knowing that was a sentimental spot for us, and my dream location for us. He and my friends worked really hard to surprise me, and boy was I surprised!!! Andy was thoughtful in every aspect of that day, and now were planning a wedding!!!

From Andy's Perspective:

2/19/2022 is a day engrained in my heart forever. I was wrapping up a leadership and discipleship program with Pine Cove called the Forge living at the Bluffs completely unaware that my life would change. What started as a normal weekend, the rest of my class was informed that the Woods Summer Staff would be on a retreat and sharing the property with us. Being a camp fanatic and good friends with some of the Woods' full-time staff, I was excited, but there is no way I could have predicted how extremely excited I should have been.

The Woods team went to a laser tag/bowling/arcade combination called Grand Slam that Saturday and I was invited to join them (lucky me!!). When I arrived at the arcade, I saw some familiar faces, brand new ones, and...one that stood out amongst the crowd. Emily. She was a total stranger at the time but deep down I knew that if I went and talked to her, I would be "in trouble", and boy was I right ha! I made a genuine effort to meet everyone on the team, but put in extra effort so I could be somewhat slick and meet Emily. Wouldn't you know it, I forgot her name almost immediately after!! We can laugh about it now, but man, I was embarrassed at the time. The team and I ended up going out to dinner and I made an effort to sit near her so I could get to know her better and we talked throughout dinner. After that, we returned to the Bluffs and played games for hours upon hours and I knew I was incredibly interested in this girl. I had a choice to make - be bold and ask her on a date and see where it goes OR never see her again in my life. Dramatic? Maybe. But thank goodness the Lord gave me the courage to ask her on a date the next morning.

Emily and I went on a walk the next day and that was when I knew something was different about her. Her level of intentionality and desire to get to know me on a sincere level was exemplified from day 1. I knew I was in; not all in yet, but knew that she was worth fighting for and pursuing more. With her heading back to Arkansas the upcoming week, I knew that we would be jumping into long distance and that scared me. I was not sure if she would want to commit to that, but I did my best to abundantly communicate that I wanted to pursue her. She replied with a motto that has shaped our relationship from the very beginning of taking things "Day by Day", and that's exactly what we did.

Firmly relying on the Lord for guidance and trusting accountability from our communities around us, we continued going on dates throughout the Spring with me traveling to Fayetteville and her to Tyler. We continued to get to know each other, but most importantly, I got to experience more and more of her faith in action leading and loving her people just as the Lord would. She showed me unexplainable amounts of grace, patience, and love that I had only experienced from the Father Himself. It was not all smooth sailing, with a near breakup nestled in there, but after a year and a half of total dependence on the Lord across far too many states, we survived long distance!

We both began new chapters of our lives in Dallas in the summer of 2023 and I selfishly thought this whole "dating in person" thing was going to be easy and that she and I had it all figured out. God humbled me VERY quickly there and praise Him for that. In His infinite kindness, He showed both Emily and me areas where we needed to grow independently and alongside one another. Through seeking the wise counsel of trusted Watermark married couples, guidance from our friends and families, and completing an 8-week premarital program called Merge, we fell more in love with one another and the Lord. We prayed about our future, engagement, marriage, and dreamed BIG, while staying open-handed for what the Lord may call us to.

In His truly generous nature, on February 17th, I asked Emily to do Day by Day forever with me and to marry me and she said yes!! Surrounded by our dearest friends and family, I confidently knew this was the second-best decision of my entire life (shoutout to God at #1). Every day is a blessing when I get to do life with Emily Joplin Miller and it's crazy to think that I only have a few more months until I am doing life with Emily Joplin McCaffrey :)