November 22, 2020. That was the day that our story began. But in order to get there, we have to go back to November 1, 2020. The University of Evansville Men’s Soccer team ended up being sent home after getting COVID-19. In Caleb Knight’s alone time, he reached out to the “matchmaker”, Ms. Lillie Oelker who had a sorority sister that had Psalms 100:2 in her Instagram bio. That girl was Lizzy Stainback and as Caleb was a Christian too, he thought “Why not?” He sent her a Snapchat that he knew would get the conversation flowing. “U go to UE?” Smooth, right? A terrible opening to what would grow into a beautiful relationship. They ended up Snapchatting and Facetime for hours each night until returning back to campus. On that first night back, they walked around campus in the snow, and at the end of the night, they walked back to their dorms with butterflies. Two weeks later, on January 23, 2021, Caleb asked Liz to be “his dork” to which Lizzy responded, “You can’t call me that unless you ask me to be your girlfriend”. Caleb just sighed. From that moment on, they spent every moment that they could together. Caleb told Lizzy he loved her for the very first time in a Sonic parking lot (their spot) in April. He hasn’t missed a day of telling her he loved her since that very first night. Summer came and they went back to Facetime calls and trips to see each other before the fall semester finally came. That semester flew by before Caleb made the hard choice to move to Cedarville.

After Caleb transferred, their relationship continued to grow in strength and perseverance. The first time they met in person for their 1 year anniversary was in Madison, Indiana. You might want to remember that. As Lizzy and Caleb did not spend every night together in person as they once had at UE, they decided that they would not go a night without saying “I love you, goodnight” over the phone. Lizzy and Caleb knew that they would be completely long-distance for over 2 years when he left. But as Caleb told Lizzy, 2 years does not compare to the lifetime ahead of them. Even as they were far apart, there has not been a major event in either of their lives that they have not been there for. Lizzy still went to every game that she could make it to and Caleb attempted to sing his little heart out with Lizzy at every one of her recitals. It wasn’t great singing but the effort was there. Although they struggled with distance and learning how to communicate effectively through a screen, Lizzy and Caleb strengthened their relationship with each other and learned how to center their relationship on Jesus and His unconditional love.

Caleb asked Lizzy to marry him (finally) on October 8, 2023 in Madison, Indiana. Did you catch that? Caleb thought it would be perfect since it was the place where they first met when they started long distancing and now it was the place where they would start the rest of their lives. Lizzy finished out school at the University of Evansville and moved out to Ohio to complete her music therapy internship at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital to be closer to Caleb while he finished his degree at Cedarville University. Now, Caleb and Lizzy are looking forward to getting married with friends and family to celebrate with them. They are so excited to start their lives together in the same city again. Whatever city that may be. They may face a few unknowns in their future, but they’re ready to face them head-on and side by side.

Please join us on December 14, 2024, at Burdoc Farms to celebrate the union of Elizabeth Stainback and Caleb Knight.