I met Jayna my first day of college. We became fast friends and I spent more time in her dorm room than my own. I’ve spent holidays with her family and she’s gone camping in Washington with mine, without me there. She genuinely feels more like family than a friend.
Ben moved to Sioux Falls in the fall of our Senior year to be near Jayna during their engagement. They got married that December on an incredibly sunny yet stupidly cold day, a few days before Christmas, and moved in together for our last semester of college. I spent many a night at Ben and Jayna’s apartment mooching off of their cereal selection, talking about how school (or winter) would be our imminent death, and making Ben watch the Bachelor with us. That these two newlyweds would let a friend spend a substantial amount of time in their teeny apartment – and eat their food at leisure – shows what kind of crazy generous people Ben and Jayna are. They are always ready and willing to love a friend in need, and they are both fiercely loyal humans. I hate that they live in Texas and are no longer a 5 minute walk across campus, but as the French say, “c’est la vie,” and shout out to Facetime.
The three of us met in Colorado Springs a couple months ago and spent a few days exploring CO Springs and Denver. This year marks 5 years since they first met in Manitou Springs at a summer conference called Summit Ministries. There was immediate attraction, but Ben was still in high school and Jayna was dating somebody else at the time. They started dating the following summer and by the fall (2012) they were in DEEP. I remember Jayna bursting into my dorm room one day wearing the goofiest, biggest smile and told me Ben would be the man she married. When you know, you know, and these two knew what they wanted: each other. We did a little photo adventure in Manitou Springs as a tribute to their love story, and because Colorado is too pretty to pass up a photoshoot. I love you both forever and ever. Thanks for all the years of third wheeling. – Julia Joy Beck
