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EN(dur)ANCE by Robin Gudal

She was a street orphan. Her history is a bit confusing as her documents contradict one another. Then a family across the globe saw a picture and fell in love with this brown skinned, potbellied (lack of nutrition), mysterious little girl. My sister. Fast forward many years. She is mostly non-verbal except her vocabulary of 50+words and her own little language.

Recently while she was visiting, I had slept later than usual. She got up and wrote a note. This note rested in the middle of her well-made bed. She has slept in this bed many times without such; regardless, a smile fell upon my tired face. I felt like I was entering into a sacred moment. Oh, for sweet! I opened the card, and I was instantly humbled. I share portions to encourage each of us to show our appreciation to others even if in simple ways. It can make such a difference.

Robin. Greg. Baby. (She is obsessed with baby Inez, great-niece). A list of family members upcoming birthdays. I love you. God. Happy. Dog. Ball. Food. Eat.  Thank you. Coffee. Bed. 

These words all placed on a simple piece of paper rocked my world! They humbled me. I am so quick at times to get short, impatient, even exasperated with her lack of’s in life. Yet her kindness, her appreciation, her hug from behind me (we laughed a lot when this happened as I was “in the zone” and didn’t hear her enter the room — it startled me which made her giddy), and that unconditional love she gives away. That challenges me to the core. 

As quoted by Abilene Clark, “You is kid, you is smart, you is important. This sums up my sister well. 

Her smile and laugh can make the grumpiest person or moment in life turn upside down. Once while traveling with her, our car broke down, thus we had an unexpected hotel stay. I went to the lobby to see if they had any extra toothpaste; they did. It was at maximum 1.5 inches long; it was a mini-mini. When I gave it to her and told her three people needed to use this she started to laugh, and I don’t mean just a giggle. It was a full-blown belly laugh, which made me laugh and then Greg joined in, just as we were about to all wear out, she started all over. Stress reliever, yup! That’s her gift. A smile. A giggle. A hug. A foot rub. Love. She is my hero. 

“Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other.” Romans 12:10, NLT

Robin (Beckman) Gudal is intentional in life, a wife, momma, nana, friend and a flawed and imperfect follower of Jesus.