Wednesday, July 2, 2014

SEW IT GOES...MORE BEAUTIFUL EACH DAY

     
                                                                                     
        June 1952  in Oklahoma                                                      June 2014 in Texas
 Michael Beall & Vasca Smith                                                   Michael & Vasca Beall                 
 
"Chains do not hold a marriage together.
It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads
which sew people together through the years."
Simone Signoret
 
Here we are, still in stitches...together after these awesome years.  Sixty two to be exact since the 8th day of July in Odessa, Texas.  You've probably heard the expression 'it'll be a cold day in July' before someone does something they vowed never to do?  Well, we married on a 'cold day in July' believe it or not.  Talk about the odds? 
 
M and I are opposites; he's neat as a pin, I'm like Pigpen in Peanuts.  He focuses and plans...I do neither.  However...this is a biggie...we have the most important thing in common.  We both have Christ as the center of our lives...from the 'I Do' get-go. 
 
Michael (poor guy) actually never proposed to me...I did all the doing.  Though we might have shared some thoughts while dating there was nothing in print...so I couldn't sue him for breach of contract.  I always have 'enjoyed talking'.  However I was not very brassy/bold so the next few actions were totally out of character for me. 
 
I took the bull by the horns/aka Michael by setting the date, printing the invitations, bought my wedding dress...all planned...by the time we were together for the above picture on the left.  I simply cannot imagine myself doing such an outright unscrupulous, outrageous thing. 
 
What if he hadn't consented...what if he had balked?  Aargh...double Aargh.  How embarrassing would that have been.  I must have been absolutely insane...or perhaps I was just so madly in love I'd lost my marbles?  You think?
 
Nonetheless, I suppose he might have agreed due to his weakened condition...after all he had just (and I do mean just) returned from fighting in Korea on the front lines in a tank!  He had lost weight and was 100% pooped.  Grabbed him while he was vulnerable...yep!
 
God had a plan for the two of us; actually we were unlikely candidates for marriage.  M had finished two years at Abilene Christian and I was already a career girl at the ripe old age of sixteen...had no yearning for college.  He moved to Odessa, got a job the first day...came to church where I attended...sat behind me and pronounced, 'that's one girl that will NEVER set foot in my car'.  Bad move, Michael.  I ended up owning half of everything the man has...bah ha!  Actually he thought I was stuck-up...not...I was painfully shy.  I know that's hard for you to believe due to my riotous wedding plans!
 
Our marriage has not been a bed of roses...not by a long shot.  We've had many personality conflicts...lots of temper tantrums on my part (even occasionally on M's part)...many mistakes and missteps!  After all, we are very human and weak at times.
 
Talk about chains...talk about threads?  Michael is the cause of my love of writing; he suggested it, he encourages it and he is my 'editor'.  I remember what he told me once...'Vasca, I like the way you write...you always have a thread to your posts.'
 
The two of us never dreamed about our future.  We just tootled along on our merry way; Michael had a job...I had a job.  He worked in the public.  I worked at home...I'll say!  Four little boys in less than five years was rather full time...but you know...I loved every busy minute of it.  I was like 'Wonder Woman'...I felt there was nothing I couldn't do.
 
Imagine the two of us, living in a very small town in Oklahoma...naïve...working 24/7...suddenly moving into a totally unexpected career with the United States Army.  No one on either side of the family had a military career and some thought we'd lost our minds. 
 
Who was to know but the One in charge, right?  He had a magnificent plan for our lives and we went along with Him.  From Oklahoma...to Virginia...to Greece...to Viet Nam and Texas...back to Virginia...to Oklahoma...to Ethiopia...to Holland & Germany...to Oklahoma...to Kansas...to Oklahoma...to Wisconsin...to Texas...to China...whew!  And here we are again...in Texas. 
 
Our four sons are finally all in the surrounding area...we have twelve grandchildren...we think we have an awesome family...ranging in age from sixteen to sixty.  M & I are 80-ish. We have a mutual love and respect for each other...thank you, God.
 
Health-wise?  We're making it.  As most of you know, Michael has Amyloidosis residing in his throat...thankfully it's a rare form of the rare condition.  So...yes...he's making it.  Me?  I'm thinkin' things are going pretty well for me these days.  Okay, I'm a 21 year old trapped in an 83 year old body and can't escape...oh well, young is a state of mind, yes?
 
This is a synopsis of our togetherness...so many farewells...many tears...so many hello's...many smiles/much laughter.  An abundance of 'wow moments' filled with unexpected...marvelous...and life changing experiences.   
 
And that's the way our marriage has been...the way it continues.  Michael & I are sewn together with all these hundreds of tiny, marvelous threads...we're still sewing.  The threads are strong because they are woven by a master artisan...our Father God. 
 
"Chains do not hold a marriage together.
It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads
which sew people together through the years."
 
From my heart...to yours,
Vasca
(Incidentally, Michael is so happy that he not only 'let' me ride in his car
but that he agreed to marry me!  So am I...whew!)
 
 

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