Justin and KaRena could have met much earlier than they did, but KaRena…. She was too scared to say “hi.” Justin started going to Crossway Bible Church and she went a whole 9 months without saying anything to him AND she even ducked in her car when he pulled up next to her in the parking lot at church. When she finally got up the courage to talk to him, she found out he had already left for Korea.

While in Korea, Justin happened to follow KaRena on Instagram. Her vibrant posts caught his eye. She loved Jesus, danced, listened to all his favorite bands, and had a GREAT sense of style. Being so classy, he slid into her DM’s in reply to one of her Instagram stories. Eventually they started talking and began dating. But the distance proved to be too much at the moment, but thankfully, God knew how to use Justin’s “knuckleheadedness” (that might not be a real word).

Over the next year, the two of them moved forward in their lives, seeking God and being pushed and strained through life. Relationships came and went, but none were quite as good as when they were dating the other. They spoke together briefly in May of 2023 but realized both of them had much more to do in their own lives before connecting again.

After everything began to settle down, and with the wisdom of Matt, Justin finally reached out again to KaRena and she said, “so are we going to date, or not?” Obviously, yes! There was no other option he wanted. In a matter of days, they already had plane tickets for KaRena to visit for Thanksgiving. Having resolved prior issues, and with a peace that could only come from the Lord, Justin had another plan for Thanksgiving as well. A ring.

Between September and November, the pair had already shopped rings and talked wedding date. Justin had KaRena’s parents full permission for her hand in marriage, and a ring was shipped. As the days got closer, the ring still hadn’t arrived.

Two days before KaRena flew to Georgia, the ring finally arrived in the mail. They met at the airport and drove down to St. Augustine to be with family. Like an idiot, Justin left the ring in Georgia. So, as they were walking around the Christmas lights of St. Augustine, KaRena was waiting for a proposal that didn’t happen. When they drove back up to Georgia, Justin realized that plan would’ve been way better than what he had planned for his Sunday proposal.

Sunday came and it was raining. The outside proposal was going to be a wash. In desperation, he reached out to the owner of a ballet studio in Savannah and got help with setting up a new proposal idea. At church, Justin kept making excuses to go take a phone call or reply to a text “from work.” Hoping that he wouldn’t give anything away. In reality, sending her to lunch with someone from church was the giveaway for KaRena.

That afternoon, Justin picked KaRena up and took her to the ballet studio. With her blindfolded, he walked her in and had a record player set up with rose petals and tea lights and Christmas lights wrapped around the ballet bars. Forgetting everything he was going to say, he turned on the music and started to speak. Finally, on one knee, he had KaRena take off her blindfold to see the ring. With relief, she said yes. With smiles on their faces, they danced along to the music before heading off to dinner.

Now the weeks are long and the days are slow as they wait for each time they get to visit and make the most of the short trips to see each other. Trying to balance wedding planning and getting to be focused on each other. But who knew wedding planning was so complicated??

We’re grateful for all the people in our lives, from church, from work; our friends and our families who love and support us. In a world that encourages independence, we know as Christians, and as a couple, we’re not made to do life alone. Thank you to everyone who has made even the smallest impact in our lives.

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