Consider One Another
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Consider One Another
Will & Lauren Bybee: God Works Things Out
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In this episode, we sit down with our newest members Will & Lauren Bybee to learn more about their story. We reflect on the comfort of Psalm 121 while discussing life as traveling healthcare workers, the unique challenge of getting married during COVID, and the journey that has led them to be part of this work in Bremerton. Listen in as we consider one another!
Consider one another as a podcast focused on each other. Thank you for tuning in to this podcast that is all about stirring up love and good works in one another.
SPEAKER_02I'm sitting here on a Sunday afternoon with our newest members, Will and Lauren Bibey. They just fist bumped. Oh, we should have had that on camera. I just thought this was going to be like a guest appearance because they're not going to stay here forever, unfortunately. But they are our newest members, and I think that's awesome that you guys place membership for the short amount of time that you're placed here in Bremerton. So thank you for being part of the work here and for giving up your Sunday afternoon to be here on the podcast.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we're happy to be here.
SPEAKER_02Will told me that he's never been on a podcast before, so this is going on the resume. Absolutely. Because you guys are our newest members, there's gonna be a lot for us to learn today. So let's jump right into it by starting with scripture. Will and Warren, I'm just gonna read Psalm 121. I'll just read the scripture and then you guys share any thoughts that you have. Sound good? Sounds good. Okay. Psalm 121. I will lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel shall not shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil. He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and even forevermore.
SPEAKER_00When we were reading this, kind of preparing for today, we I don't want to call it a family motto, but just something that we uh say a lot in our life is life has a way of working out. And that's just kind of like a sentence that we live by during stressful times. Life has a way of working out, and I feel like to us, that's just such a simplified version of this scripture here, where the reason that life keeps working out is because God is with us, and it's just so comforting that you know we're going through changes and going through like big decisions, but no matter what, God is with us, and it may not be the way that we envision it working out, but it also always turns out like this beautiful way.
SPEAKER_02I think family motto is a great word. It's a family motto.
SPEAKER_04I think it sounds much more uh I guess grandiose than it actually is family motto. It's just kind of a saying, maybe. Uh saying a motto. Family motto makes you think it's on like a family carest or something. Not every way, that would be way cooler.
SPEAKER_00Give us a decade in my common crest.
SPEAKER_04Um yeah, I think the part that stands out for me specifically, uh, like from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. And it kind of makes, you know, we're we were one of them was discussing, like, we came here and Lauren didn't have a job yet, and we were kind of looking for for like a hospital in the area, and we were like, it'll work out, and it kind of makes puts it in perspective. I guess my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth, and then we're stressing about finding a hospital. I don't know, it's kind of one of those things where it's like it's so small in comparison to look at the mountain heaven and earth, and then we're looking for like you know a job nearby. You know, it's gonna be okay.
SPEAKER_02Yes. I think it's a great motto and it's great commentary, Will. Life has a way of working itself out. Sounds kind of flippant or or like you're just playing it by ear, but that's not it at all. Put what you're gonna put on the family crest is Psalm 121. Keep things in perspective. Like look to the mountains. God made those. It's gonna work out. It's totally gonna work out. So we're we're totally tracking on the same page here. I'm I'm really glad about that because that was my exact same thought too. God will keep you in your coming and going. You guys have done a lot of coming and going uh into Bremerton, eventually out of Bremerton, into all sorts of other places you'll tell us about later. But life keeps having a way of working itself out, which isn't flippant when you root it in scripture. It's not just hoping, it's God's in control, it'll be okay. And I do think there's so much work uh behind the scenes of God bringing you guys here. You guys have been so encouraging to us already. So likewise. Oh, fantastic. Uh I I brought this verse out for that reason, uh, but enough of me talking. How about you just tell me about what life looks like as traveling healthcare workers? Would that be the right title? Yeah. Generally to traveling healthcare workers, which is so cool. Uh, what does life look like? Whose idea was this, and where have you been so far?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I guess uh what does life look like? Like the day-to-day life is kind of boring. Um it's essentially once you arrive um and kind of set up where you are, it's essentially like working any other job, you know. Uh like you get up to your 9 to 5, or for Lauren, I guess 7 to 7. Um p.m. to 7 a.m. Uh huh, yeah, night shift. Um so that doesn't look all too different. The more difficult part would be setting up the job. So um, like in December, we had some time off, and so we're looking at different locations that have physical therapy jobs for me, nursing jobs for Lauren, and then jobs obviously where where those are are nearby each other. And then yeah, once once you sign a contract, it it locks you in for three months or so, and you can extend, which is what we did. So we got here beginning of January through the end of May uh for mine. It's like five months.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, extended his.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Uh so that she could get her three months in. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Because she's just starting a super fun job. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER_00Um, I am night shift on a post-surgical ortho floor down in Pew Olive.
SPEAKER_01Cool.
SPEAKER_00Night shift's not ideal, but again, that's the way God provided, so that's it'll work out. It'll work out. Yeah, that's what it is. That's what God provided for us. So here we are. And it's it's interesting that like no matter how far away you get from home, patients are still patients. Like they still need that like compassion, they still need you know, all of that. So it doesn't matter where you are, people are people.
SPEAKER_02And right, whether it be E Town or Bremerton or Piwala.
SPEAKER_00Right. Oh no. Maine to Washington coast to coast.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so take me through that. Your your first job you said was in Maine as far as traveling healthcare goes.
SPEAKER_00We were in Colorado first. And all of this was Will's idea. I am very much a creature that stays in my comfort zone. So he would like to add something.
SPEAKER_04Encouraged. I definitely did too. But it was still your idea. It was my idea. Um, and I'm a little so Lauren grew up in the military. Uh her dad was in the military, of course. And so she grew up overseas. She was actually born here in Washington, Fort Lewis, and then they went to Germany. Oh, welcome back. And then yeah, uh, and then to Fort Knox in Kentucky, which is where I met her. So she had the privilege uh of growing up in a few different locations. I was born and raised in Kentucky, so um believe it or not. Yeah, I believe it or not.
SPEAKER_00Never further than two miles from I-65.
SPEAKER_04Yep, that is actually very true. Um and so yeah, um I I learned kind of about travel, physical therapy, and the more I looked into it, I thought that was a good way to uh because I love Kentucky, I want to be close to my friends, close to my family, but um it would give us an opportunity. Uh, before we settle down, have a family, you you make a little more income as a traveling healthcare worker. So uh it to me at least looking on the outside in, and actually here at the end of a year or so now, I still think it it has several wins. Um yeah. One being, yeah, you get to travel the country, uh, live in places a little longer than you would typically, like on vacation, you know, you're somewhere for a week versus three months here. Um you you make a little more, so we can put that towards you know, student loans, uh save up for a house and stuff, which is is what we're doing currently.
SPEAKER_00And yeah, I get to form relationships around around America. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Not just seeing America, right? For meeting other people named Will.
SPEAKER_04And getting invited over and uh you know, dominating in board games and stuff as we did.
SPEAKER_02Yes, the Wills had the Will and Will dominated. Yeah, uh that's special. Yeah, that's special to just be in Bremerton on a Tuesday night all of a sudden at strangers' homes, people you really shouldn't know, but for these five months, you do. Yeah, that's special.
SPEAKER_04And then uh, for instance, in Maine, we we got invited, you know, to people's you know, wedding uh celebrations and uh birthday parties, and so I don't know, you get to kind of become not like a local because we're not locals, but you get to live like one maybe for a few months, and I think that's really cool. It gives you an outside perspective coming from being born and raised in Kentucky. You can kind of see how people live in Washington and Maine and Colorado. So those are the three. Those are the three.
SPEAKER_02Those are all really cool states.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I think we kind of killed it.
SPEAKER_00That's why we're like wanting to end now, because I'm like, where do we go from here? Like what are we doing?
SPEAKER_02Which one was your favorite?
SPEAKER_04Uh I think Maine is what we were talking about. Not in Washington. We were in Saco, Maine. Uh it's about 30 minutes south of Portland, which is the big city of Maine. Um, so we were right on the ocean. We had our our uh rental home, I guess, was right on the beach. So our dog, Marshall, loved that. Shout out, Marshall. Shout out Marshall. He had to make an appearance. I knew he would. Yeah, he's here right now. Um, but I I gotta say, Washington, you guys are giving it a run for the money. It did have five months, we've only been here like two.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, I suppose then the the night shift isn't gonna help Washington's case.
SPEAKER_00Well, I was night shift in Maine, too. Oh really? So, yeah. Okay, so in an even playing field.
SPEAKER_02At time. Yeah. Okay. It's possible. Uh this is cool to me. The the three wins, travel income people, that's so cool. Um, and you guys have already done traveling like within Washington, like you did, Mount Storm King. We did. Right?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we did a few years ago. Yeah, so that's you know, we came for a week.
SPEAKER_00Back in 2022, 23? 23, I think.
SPEAKER_02So you kind of knew what you're getting yourselves into.
SPEAKER_04Sort of, yeah. So but we came for a week and just, you know, like kind of just staying long term, you get to really enjoy it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Kind of a little more.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you said lit like live like you live here. Yeah, yeah. And that's again why it's so cool that you place membership. It'd be so easy to just say, we're gonna survive these three months with night shift and the four tens and just go home. Uh, but you've chosen to plug in. Because of that, like we get to know you guys, and you guys get to know us. That's cool uh to plug in wherever God happens to place you. Uh so good on you for doing that. Uh, I'm sure we could talk about this for the whole entire time, but just detail for me the ins and outs of both being healthcare workers. That's cool. Because you're physical therapy, is that right? Yes. And Lauren's a nurse. Yes. Okay. Do they do they have overlap where you guys relate and talk about work together? Like personally, or does it kind of stay separate? Keep going.
SPEAKER_00It's kind of the perfect balance. Because I can come back and I can tell Will about my day, and I can like use very technical terms, and he understands exactly what I'm talking about. But at the end of the day, I can be like, well, this is how I felt about it. And he's like, Well, I've never been in that situation specifically.
SPEAKER_04So, like, he can't correct you. I know just enough about there's going to be dangerous. Yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_00And then he can, you know, come home from work and be like, Well, my patient had this injury and it was really stressful. And I'm like, You're right, those injuries are really stressful to like care for right. So it's, I feel like, the perfect balance.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we kind of speak the same language, really, so we can kind of do the healthcare jargon and like understand, which is nice.
SPEAKER_02Without having to give details of everything. Right. I talk about the acronyms out here a lot because of the Navy, and like Navy folk will talk in acronyms to each other and like, what it stop. What and they have to explain everything to me. You guys, I'm sure, are speaking plenty of acronyms and codes and whatever, and you know what that means. You have like a baseline. Right. We would empathize, but you can't correct, like, well, if I was there, we weren't there, you're not a mess. So it's a perfect balance. Do you ever like get jealous of the other one? Like, oh, I wish I would have been that, or you're both happy in your never.
SPEAKER_00Which is like, I love. I love patient care.
SPEAKER_02Your nurse, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I'm nurse. And then I tell him, I'm like, the worst part of my day is moving my patients. I hate that. And he's like, that's my entire day. Like, and you like that. Well, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Well, it sometimes she one-ups me. You know, I'll come home and I'll be like, Man, Lauren, I had the longest day. Like, I had a bunch of patients, some of them, you know, a little more like uh less mobile, so maybe I have to do some like assist to get them up and over. And she's like, Yeah, uh, my patient punched me today. And I'm like, Alright, you know what? My day wasn't all that bad. Right. You you win.
SPEAKER_02You win this one, okay. You can have that. So it's the perfect balance relating to each other while having unique experiences, being happy in your lanes. Yeah. Do your thing. Absolutely. I'll do mine. Uh I mentioned today just time that I had spent in a hospital as a kid. So healthcare workers are very near and dear to my heart, especially nurses. Uh, because like the the night shift or the day shift would switch at seven, and like you'd just be hoping for a good nurse. That would change the next 12 hours of my life depending on who was taking care of me. So the healthcare work is such such a serpent heart. And I'm sure and I've spent plenty of time with physical therapists as well, um, who helped me and changed who I am. So thank you for the work that you're doing. And I think it's great you're doing it in such a cool way, going all over the country. With as busy as you both are, you st you still make time to be here, which is crazy. And I thank you guys so much for that. It does not go unnoticed. But because of your traveling and attending different churches all over the country, uh you have a really unique perspective to this question. So, from your perspective, what small things or big things, what can congregations do to welcome visitors? Whether it's visitors like yourselves or visitors in the area, what can churches do to welcome visitors?
SPEAKER_00I know our first week I was just like in awe and shocked when they made the announcements of how many opportunities there were for the people of the congregation to get together and like build those relationships outside of just the service hours. There and I feel like every single week there's opportunities to like develop those relationships, which like to me it shows that you guys not only worship together, but you actually enjoy being around each other.
SPEAKER_02Want to be together.
SPEAKER_00Want to be together, um, which I think is incredible, and I think says a lot about the people here that they want to be together.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, thank you for saying that. They want to be together. Yeah, and so that was noticeable.
SPEAKER_00It was very noticeable, and it was wonderful to to hear. Okay. And we were immediately invited to so many of those opportunities, which was incredibly encouraging.
SPEAKER_04I think I've told a couple of people, but I don't think we ate lunch alone on Sunday afternoon for the first like month or so, uh, which is awesome. So, yeah, our very first day, some people approached us and asked us for lunch and then the next Sunday and the next Sunday, uh which yeah, is fantastic. So um, yeah, we were that has not happened before. Uh so good on you guys. Hey, good on us.
SPEAKER_02One point, Brahmerton. I didn't want to make it a softball question to like compliment us and make us feel good, but I'm glad that stood out. Hopefully, you guys do feel like you can say no to that and say, hey, we're gonna go see this cool thing. I think you did Leavenworth last week, maybe. We did, yeah, a couple weekends ago. So you had to eat lunch by yourselves before. Then you got to go see things. Feel free to tell us no to things, but just the opportunity is cool. I want to, like, I can go to Tim's house right after this and be with more people again. Uh, not that you have to or else, but it's cool that it's available. Uh so we got people who want to be plugged in and people who want to plug them in. I'm glad that has worked well for you guys. That brings us to the question I'm most excited about. Uh, because well, I just I love love, obviously. So rewind just a little bit, maybe a lot of it, I don't know. Uh, can you just share the story? Share the story of how you two met and then eventually got married. Uh, just take us through that as much detail as you're willing to provide. Tell us about Willow Lauren.
SPEAKER_00So, as he mentioned before, I moved to Kentucky from Germany. Um, a little bit of a culture shock because I was eight years old. I've been in Germany for most of the life I could remember. Wow. Um, and he was actually the first person I met in America. We were in Bible class together back home.
SPEAKER_02In Kentucky.
SPEAKER_00In Kentucky. Elizabeth Town. Elizabeth Town. Yes, E Town. It's E Town.
SPEAKER_02I can't believe Randy said that he said it today.
SPEAKER_00E Town.
SPEAKER_04That's funny, obviously. Sorry.
SPEAKER_00I was impressed we were about to well it was it was my fault because in our meeting I wasn't even thinking I referenced E Town. He's like, I'm sorry when his name is. I was like, oh, I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_02You never heard of Big City?
SPEAKER_00I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_02So now everyone else knows too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02E Town, Elizabeth Town. Spreading the word. Yeah, now we all know. Okay, so you're there Elizabethtown, Church of Christ.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_02Uh, you guys mean in Bible class. Yes. Wait, eight years old?
SPEAKER_00I was eight. He was seven.
SPEAKER_02Oh seven.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. We were young books. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So rewind a lot of bit. A lot of bit. This is gonna take a lot. Okay, perfect.
SPEAKER_00We'll do the short flip notes.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it starts at eight.
SPEAKER_00Kind of existing together until like middle, not until like middle school, high school. Right, I was way cooler. Yeah, you didn't talk to girls now. Because don't fight. And then I would say high school, we keep we became really good friends until they worked up the nerve to ask me out. And then we've been that it takes like a year.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. My bad. Like a year of liking. It took like a year. I think well we have some friends that they made fun of us. Uh sure. I think was it every day for a year?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_04That we texted or something.
SPEAKER_00We were using it. And we're not dating. Yes.
SPEAKER_02No, that that follows a classic mold of like just the youth group couple.
SPEAKER_00The youth group couple.
SPEAKER_02Yes, for sure. Yeah, from eight years old, middle school to high school, only took them almost ten years to ask her out.
SPEAKER_04We were both 17. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And so I was a junior in high school and Lauren was a senior. And so I asked her out right after prom. Not before prom.
SPEAKER_00I think we did that on purpose. Yeah. Right.
SPEAKER_04So I have to deal with that. But Lauren did come to my prom, so it was okay. Yeah. It worked out. Skip my two A-prom. We dated uh through college, we did the long distance thing. Lauren went to Fried Hardeman University, which was closer to Memphis, so probably four hours, five hour hours. From E Town. Is that Elizabeth Town? Yeah. Okay. Elizabeth Town, by the way. And uh yeah, I went to Western Kentucky University to go to Stouse on top of you. That was about it. Delete that part. Delete that part. Got that, got that, got that. Um that was about an hour away. So Nashville was sort of halfway. Two hours for you, an hour for me. Yeah. Um, so I think what would we do once a month or once a semester?
SPEAKER_00Once a month, just hang out in Nashville for a month.
SPEAKER_04We meet in Nashville. Okay. It's a cool place to hang out.
SPEAKER_00It's a great place, yeah. It's gotten huge since we started going there.
SPEAKER_02A lot of people in Nashville. Is this what we're talking about? 2018?
SPEAKER_04So I was 2016 to 2020 was was my four years in college. Um and Lauren was, you know, 15 to 19 or so. But yeah, I'm a year ahead of him in. Yeah. Yeah. Was it 2018 when I proposed?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was say that confidently. It was 2018. New Year's Eve 2018, so barely 2018.
SPEAKER_02Um New Year's Eve 2018 or New Year's Day. That's what it gets.
SPEAKER_00End of the year 2018. End of the year 2018.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Gotcha. So I proposed. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Got married during COVID. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so so you're engaged in 2019. Yeah. Yes. That's the year of engagement. Oh, well, we'll plan a 2020 wedding. Yeah. That'll be perfect. Easy to remember.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Famous last words.
SPEAKER_00Famous last words.
SPEAKER_04It was May. I can remember our planned wedding. May 23rd, 2020 was our planned wedding date. It's like the due date. And then I don't remember our actual wedding date. May 9th?
SPEAKER_00I have to look in our calendar.
SPEAKER_04Because we had May 23rd. We were locked in for last year. For 18 months.
SPEAKER_02Okay. No, that makes sense. I don't applaud you for that.
SPEAKER_00The beginning of the week. I think it's May 9th. So, like a couple days before. Yeah. A couple days before May 9th. It's in our calendar. I texted him and I was like, I'm tired of quarantined by myself. Do you want to get married on Friday? And so we got married like a couple days later. Cancelled our wedding.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Wow. Okay, first of all, that's awesome. Second of all, you said get married on Friday. What day did you text him that? Monday or Tuesday, yeah. Well you had COVID, right? Weren't you quarantined?
SPEAKER_00No, I was just quarantined for it. I didn't have it.
SPEAKER_02Like you're around someone who might have had it. It was like early COVID.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I was a nurse in early COVID.
SPEAKER_04They would say like the two-week paid go home and don't be around anybody. Which they don't do at all anymore.
SPEAKER_02It's like but at the at the height of COVID, you kind of had to.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So we have to pay this person. Oh, that's fine. So then you said, okay, this is not the best. It's not good for a woman to be alone. Like, let's just get married.
SPEAKER_04That's pretty much it. Pretty much. Yeah. Because we, you know, we had all our our venue had reached out and been like, you know, it's not happening. Not happening. Our caters had been like not happening. You know, everything was nothing was gonna happen.
SPEAKER_02But you were sticking with the date. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And so yes. Um, and then we were like, well, if we're gonna be doing like a backyard wedding anyway, why are we sticking to May 23rd? So we bumped it up by two weeks. And then did what? Family, backyard? Yes.
SPEAKER_00My sister-in-law weirdly has her family has like a they call it the barn. It's like just a venue that the family uses. Very cool. And so she This is probably the most Kentucky. Yeah, I was about to say, you said this was in Kentucky. Kentucky? Yeah. So she my sister-in-law is absolutely wonderful. She's a blessing among us. Um so she heard that we were gonna have a backyard wedding and she's like, no, no, you're having a real wedding. So she's like a really pretty piece of found a property.
SPEAKER_04It's got like wrong hills and fountains and trees and flowers and all that. So it's really pretty.
SPEAKER_02From Monday to Friday, this all happened.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00She put in work.
SPEAKER_02That is awesome. Yeah. A blessing indeed. So do you guys feel like you got a real wedding-ish? Kind of.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, a year later we had a reception to get the pretty pictures and the pretty dress.
SPEAKER_04Yes, we had our deposit. Uh actually we were already paid. So we reached out to the place and they were like, we can do April 2021. So we we had 300 people invited. We cut that down to like 100. Okay. And then one's a matter. And then yeah, we had uh again mild Kentucky home. Um very Kentucky. Very Kentucky was that was our venue. Um and yes, we had a real reception April 2021, uh, where you know we had like kind of a renewal of our vows, I guess, technically, but more just like the reception, uh like the cake and the food and our friends and the ceremonial, yeah. Yes. So, yes, we do feel like we got a real wedding, but it took a little bit there for a little.
SPEAKER_00A lot of tears got there eventually. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So it's hard. You know, like we talked about at the beginning, that's one of the I think that's one of the big things that stands out where we started, where it's like, it'll all work out probably, you know. Because at the end of the day, God has a way of working things out. Do we have, yeah, it kind of shows you do you need a 300-person wedding with catered food and a cake, or do you need ten of your closest family members in a field? Right. Your preacher grandfather, which was married, yeah, which was very nice. Oh, that's sweet.
SPEAKER_00Convenient preacher in the family.
SPEAKER_02The things that needed to be there were there. Exactly. Yeah, someone to tie the knot, two people who love each other.
SPEAKER_04And at the end of the day, we were married. So not how we pictured it, but life has a way of working out.
SPEAKER_02It worked out, and it makes me happy that you guys you're looking back on this very fondly.
SPEAKER_00Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Absolutely. It'll be like a horror story. Because some people like to say that, especially people who graduated in 2020, like they love to bring up like I didn't get a graduation. Like you could say I didn't get a wedding, but you guys like so chill about it. It's it's such a cool story.
SPEAKER_04It's still an inside the arbor is still an inside joke.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Oh shit. I can we can talk about that.
SPEAKER_02You don't have to, but you can.
SPEAKER_00He uh tried to build an arbor the day of our wedding. No, it's just our reception. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Lauren had an idea that behind us would be a very nice copper, she got it on its Instagram.
SPEAKER_00Pinterest, come on. Pinterest. Keep your social media. What is like a copper arbor?
SPEAKER_04And I have somehow I my friend group and family has several engineers. Uh so my dad is an engineer, my brother's an engineer. Cool. Two of my groomsmen were engineers. So we were like, we can build this arbor. Like, we got this. You know, everybody's we're all college educated. Uh it no, so I think it ended up getting tossed in a bush somewhere. Um so we essentially tried to construct it. He said day of. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It got tossed day of. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Oh, you were working on it before. Yeah, I bought the parts the day before, and we constructed it off-site, and we were like, this looks okay. Oh. And then I think we tried to construct it on site the next day, and it looked terrible. It was so bad. Five engineers. But genuinely, yeah, I was gonna say my grooms were what did they spend an hour on that thing? Probably. At least before we made the executive decision that it has to go in a bush. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there's there's an analogy in there somewhere. Yeah. I don't know where, but the arbor. It's a good inside job. Ditch that thing. It's gone. It's gone. Quit wasting your time on arbor, it's like even without the arbor, it happened. You happened. Um there's so much here, because that's like a I mean, we're looking at 20 years, right? That you guys have known each other.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, 20 years. 22 now, so yeah. Wow.
SPEAKER_02Okay, that that's so cool. And it's like a high school sweetheart, but it's like Bible class sweethearts too. Um, whatever the youth group phrase is. That's that's really cool that you guys made it through all of that, even through COVID, and chose each other. I got nervous when Will didn't remember his anniversary, but it's okay. Our doesn't either. Whatever you did. So that was uh a sigh of relief. They said it's in the calendar. Like that's how me and my wife make like dentist appointments.
SPEAKER_04It's in the calendar. Yeah, our our dentist appointments are in there too, but we also have our wedding date.
SPEAKER_00He knows May 23rd, 2020 so well. You gotta give him a we got you gotta give a pass.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so do you celebrate that like as an anniversary? No. No, it goes to the May 9th or 8th or something like that. It's whatever weekend in May works. The story I'm sure has more details, uh but you painted a really good picture for us through that time. And now you're traveling the country together. Uh I'm sure making it through long distance wasn't easy either. Uh, both in difficult schooling programs, I'm sure, uh, that's stressful. And it's easy to maybe choose your own schooling over being with this other person too. Uh but you made it, and now uh you've been married three years then. Six. Six years. Hold on. Why'd I so you've been married six years then, right? Yeah, yes. Wow, six years, very cool. Oh like I was married in 2023. That's how I got confused. So sorry. You've been married six years. Sorry, keep keep talking.
SPEAKER_00Um with the like separate schools and the long distance, it like wasn't fun at the time, but I feel like both of us feel like I've said earlier, I'm a creature comfort or comfort creature. I will stay in my comfort zone. So both of us being like away from each other, I feel like we got to grow as people and Christians because we were like independently in these different programs and got to meet different people and and still choose each other, but got to become a little bit more independent with it.
SPEAKER_04It's very well put, yeah. And college is kind of the time I think like you've kind of transitioned from being like a kid who lives with your parents to like your own independent adult. And not that, you know, I think uh obviously we love each other very much, but I think it's good sometimes to do that, you know, kind of find out who you are on your own without becoming maybe codependent. I don't know if that's the word I want to use. No, it is, but um, you know, if if you go through, you know, you leave from your parents' house and then you you just find another person to kind of use as a support versus kind of doing it on your own, I guess.
SPEAKER_00Who had already known you for 20 years. Exactly.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it would be very easy, I guess, if we'd gone to the same school or something like that to just spend all of our our time together. Maybe it's a better way to phrase it than the code in it. No, I know what you mean. But yeah, you kind of figure out who you are. Um, you know, there's nobody really holding holding you accountable. Uh, you know, do you I do I go to church this morning because I want to or because my girlfriend is, or uh so I think things like that, you know, in a hindsight looking back, I I think it's probably a good thing we did the long distance for the development. Even though it was not yeah, not ideal at the time.
SPEAKER_02But yeah, because it's it can be easy to choose someone because it's easy. Like I I don't know, like we just knew each other since we were seven, then we went to school together, and then we graduated, so we got married. And like it was just easy the whole time, and then hard things happen, like the season of life you're in right now, and you think, oh, why'd I choose why'd I choose this person? Yeah, like you already know that. Like, no, no, I know what I'm like by myself, and I'm better with this person. Yeah. Uh so that's what I'm saying. Good for you. Like you guys chose each other, and that makes me happy to see. We made it to the favorites section, okay. So the way this works is really up to you guys, okay. However you'd like to, we usually go through a verse in the Bible or a hymn uh that we sing. It's no pressure. However, it can be individually, it can be as a couple, um, but a verse in the Bible, a song that we sing to if you want to share that, now's the time.
SPEAKER_00We were talking in my personal favorite verse um is Deuteronomy 31.6, which I thought was crazy connected to the verse or to the um Psalm 121. Psalm 121. Oh. Um I feel like it shows a lot of the same message. Um 31.
SPEAKER_02So Deuteronomy 31.6. Okay, I'm there. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_00Uh it is be strong and courageous, do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord thy God with you, who goes with you. So I just felt like that sounded a lot like Psalm 121.
SPEAKER_03It does.
SPEAKER_00And then the song uh that we were discussing is our favorite. Um, just as I am, but the new version with the bridge, the I come broken.
SPEAKER_02The I come broken, yes.
SPEAKER_00Incredible, beautiful, incredible, no, no, no, no, no, me to tears the first time I heard it.
SPEAKER_02Just as I am, I come broken. I do know the distinction you're talking about. And theologically, there is some significance. Like, we're not just coming to God being like, ah, like this is me. Say, I come broken to be mended. That's a great pick. Okay, so you can kind of agree on that. We got our family motto, our family verse, our family song. Deuteronomy 31, 6, that's a great poll. Uh, he will not leave you nor forsake you. Like he he goes with you, which is almost verbatim what we saw in Psalm 121. He's going with you to Maine or Colorado or Washington, like he's gonna work it out. He's not gonna leave you. Different circumstances, long distance, COVID, travel nursing, you've got this constant. That's how God keeps working things out. He's with you. Very connected.
SPEAKER_00If you ever see my Bible, it's actually the verse that's painted on my Bible in Deuteronomy 31.6.
SPEAKER_02Purposefully, like that's why you chose that Bible.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, a friend of mine made it for me, and she said, give me your favorite verse. So that's what's painted on my Bible if you ever see it.
SPEAKER_02Oh, that is awesome. Okay, great. So dress like your Bible, Dan. Lauren's coming as Deuteronomy 31.6. Uh be strong and have good courage. Uh, do not fear nor be afraid. He will never leave you nor forsake you. I like leaving it right there with scripture. I hope you can hear just the joy in my voice. Uh, this has just felt like having Will and Lauren over for dinner or playing games with them. Like just talking with them has been fun. It's been fun and really easy. I know the podcast thing can seem, I don't know, just a little bit nerve-wracking. Maybe you can give a shout out to anyone else who might be asked to do this later. Easy and fun?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Just conversation. Just conversation.
SPEAKER_02Just like I said. Okay. Now we can leave it right there with scripture. Will and Lauren, thank you guys so much for plugging in here. And wherever you guys end up after this, uh, we hope that you stay in touch. And for now, thank you for your time this afternoon, for being vulnerable with us and letting us consider you.
SPEAKER_04Thank you for having us, not just on the podcast, but just in general at Burminton Church Christmas. Yes.
SPEAKER_01We love y'all. The Bible tells us to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works in each other. So thank you for stirring up love and good works in me just by listening to this episode.
SPEAKER_00I feel like we yapped about our relationship for a long time. So it wasn't that long. Okay. Feel free to cut out. Feel free to cut out whatever you're looking at.
SPEAKER_04When the podcast is five minutes when it comes out.