My cousin, Sharon DeVault, had a case of reel love that turned into real love. It is quite the tale. Some may say Sharon and Wayne’s story of how they came together was one of chances and coincidences. I say it is one of how God moves in mysterious ways.

It started in 1966 at Sharon’s church, Cedar Ford in Union County. Their new pastor, RC Harless, told her about a young man who attended his previous church: New Corinth in Grainger County. His name was Wayne Roach and he was serving in Korea. He was very homesick and longed to attend the church services of home.

Thanks to a strange twist of fate, Wayne ended up stationed in Korea instead of Vietnam. That September, he and other inductees boarded a bus at Fort Jackson that was to take them to catch a plane. They had no idea to where they would be flying, but assumed it was Vietnam.

Since their bus arrived ten minutes late, they missed their plane. They spent the night and boarded another plane that flew them to Washington State. There they discovered the plane they missed was bound for Vietnam, and that the plane had crashed killing everybody on board. Their assignment was then changed to Korea.

Sharon’s father, Buster DeVault, had a reel to reel recorder. In those days, that was a very big deal. RC asked if they could record the services and ship the reel tapes to Wayne. That way he could enjoy the church service. Naturally, Buster agreed.

Then RC’s wife asked Sharon if she had a boyfriend. She didn’t, so RC’s wife suggested she write to Wayne. Sharon didn’t believe Wayne would write her back, but RC’s wife insisted he would.

Sharon mailed Wayne reels as well as letters. She sent her first letter to him in November 1966 and he sent one back to her. Instead of immediately responding, she decided to wait. Wayne wrote her and asked why she hadn’t answered his letter. From that point on, they wrote to each other every day. And here is the really awesome part of that: Wayne kept ever single letter Sharon sent him. And Sharon kept ever single letter he mailed to her.

If you look at the picture, you will see their letters in a box. They are carefully tied up with ribbons. Most treasures are.

In his letters, Wayne wrote how the other boys stationed there made fun of him for not drinking, for reading his Bible and going to church. Sharon said that was the kind of husband she wanted: a good and Godly man. She also said Wayne had her from hello and she knew they were going to marry.

They wrote for a year. Then in November 1967, Sharon actually spoke to Wayne over the phone. He called from the Chicago airport to tell her he was on his way home. And he asked her to tell his family.

Wayne’s family didn’t have a phone at the time, so Sharon and her mom, Lorena, rode to their house to tell them. Sharon had been writing letters to his mother as well.

On the day Wayne was to fly in, Sharon took off from work. His plane was supposed to land in Knoxville at 11 AM. The plan was for Sharon, his mother and his brother, Phil, to meet Wayne at the airport. It didn’t quite work out that way.

That morning, Wayne called Sharon at 6 AM from Atlanta. He was able to switch flights and would be flying into Knoxville at 7 AM. The airport was an hour’s drive from her house and his parents lived further away. She knew she didn’t have time to drive to their house and be at the airport to meet Wayne. So, she called his cousin to tell his parents.

Sharon made it to the airport shortly after his plane arrived. Wayne had been standing in an airport window and watching for her since he knew the kind of car she drove. And as we say in the south, as soon as he saw her, he high-tailed it out to her car.

So, there in the airport driveway, they met face to face for the first time. He kissed her and said hello. And as we already know, he already had her heart. And I dare say, she had his heart as well.

Sharon was so thankful to be by herself at their first meeting. She said it would’ve been strange to kiss Wayne with his mother standing there. Hey, God always knows what He is doing.

That Christmas Wayne gave her an engagement ring. It wasn’t a surprise for Sharon since they had been discussing marriage. They married on March 3rd of the following year, 1968.

Wayne was in Korea for 14 months and corresponded with Sharon for 12 months. And as of March 3rd, of this year, they have been married for 50 years. They have been blessed with two children and two grandchildren. And not to mention their cousins, like yours truly.