A family that seems
to have marriage figured out

Robyn’s ’Hood
By Robyn McCloskey

One of the perks of my husband’s job as a pastor is that on occasion we get to attend conferences on the church’s dime.
We recently were privileged enough to spend three days at such a conference. I was very much looking forward to it because it meant time alone with my husband. More important, it meant time alone in a beautiful hotel with my husband. Of course it also meant sharing meals and meetings with about 80 other pastors and their spouses. Can’t say they were the most fun group I ever ran with, but they were awfully polite.
The conference was held in Colonial Williamsburg, also not the most fun place I’ve ever visited, but that’s a column for another day. Since my husband and I are the type of people who manage to have a good time wherever we go, even if it includes an afternoon of meandering through a few of ye olde cobblestone streets, I’d have to say the trip was a success.
The seminar topic was marriage and the speaker was a guy named Michael Smalley, whom you may or may not have heard of. His dad is a guy named Gary Smalley, whom you also may or may not have heard of. But if you haven’t, you should get acquainted.
The family dynasty began more than 39 years ago when Gary and his beloved wife, Norma, were married. About 11 years into their marriage, Gary and Norma began an organization focused on helping marriages and families, all the while growing their own.
In the meantime, Gary managed to crank out 28 books, some of them co-authored by his wife. And he has spent countless hours traveling the world, speaking to millions of people at his seminars. He’s a marriage and family counselor whose clients have included people like entertainer John Tesh and actress Connie Sellecca and those lovebirds Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford.
Considering that whole debacle a decade ago, when Frank got caught with a flight attendant, you gotta give Gary Smalley his kudos, since the Giffords are still together. Now it seems the torch is being . . . well, not passed, but shared by Michael, the baby of the family, who with his own wife Amy is turning the salvation of couples into a family affair.
Having attended countless seminars and conferences over the years, a few of them that featured Michael’s dad as keynote speaker, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Michael. It proved a pleasant surprise.
I was more than impressed by his professional ease at the microphone. By his hilarious, self-deprecating delivery and his masterful storytelling. Above all, by his unwavering commitment to back up everything he shares with biblical truth.
He is more than a straight-shooter; he tells it like it is, the good the bad and the ugly, all the while shattering Christian stereotypes. He gives such straightforward, practical advice that even those of us who have been married for more than 20 years — and shall remain nameless — learned a few new tricks.
He shares from his own childhood (a happy one), his own marriage (a self-professed out-of-his-league one), and his own life (filled with more truth-is-stranger-than-fiction illustrations than you can imagine).
One of my favorite stories he told recalled the time his father needed a kidney transplant and Michael was the perfect match. Thankfully both survived, but in true Michael Smalley fashion, not without the hard-earned scars to prove it.
I highly recommend the many books and resources that the Smalley family has to offer for anyone who may be thinking that their marriage, family or life is beyond repair. If you count yourself among this group, please visit their Web site (www.gosmalley.com) to learn of resources that offer true hope and practical help for the hurting.
And so I walked away from this conference even more impressed with the Smalley family and their efforts to aid humanity. They strike me as a loving, completely transparent and close-knit group who have spent a lifetime serving others by giving their time, their insights and their hearts.
And, if need be, even a kidney. ••
Robyn McCloskey’s column appears each week in the Northeast Times. She can be reached at crmccloskey@verizon.net