It's So Much More Friendly With Two! - A.A. Milne
>> Wednesday, March 21, 2012
This week is the birthday of several dear friends. One of
them was named Donna. When I think of this friend, I think of words like sweet,
sunny, dimples, thoughtful, fun, laughter, courage, tenderhearted, competitive,
beloved.
Donna would have been 61this week. I say “would have been”
because her life was cut short just before her 20th birthday. She
was born with a lung disorder later identified as Cystic Fibrosis. It is a
cruel disease. It limited her severely. She wasn’t able to play outside with us
other kids as long as she would have liked. She loved to laugh, but often had
that cut short by violent bursts of coughing due to her lung congestion. I
always hated it when that happened!
We loved to play games together and got very competitive.
I hated to lose; so did she! We both
loved words, and depending on who was the “teacher” when we played school, we
would give the “student” a challenging spelling test. Words can be weapons,
too, and we had our share of “word fights…….” Each trying to get in the “last
word.” One time, she actually bit me in an effort to shut me down and win!
I cannot think of a person who was Donna’s enemy. She
handled her disease with grace and poise, sewing her own clothes that would best
fit her awkward body build. It was very common back in the 1950’s for children
with CF to look malnourished, with thin legs and arms and a distended tummy.
She measured just 4’10”. But for me, I remember her bright eyes, dimples, cheery
smile, and alert mind. They always became the focus when we were together.
So this week I honor the memory of a “little person” who
made me feel alive and more appreciative of every day of my own life. She had a
deep, abiding faith in God and His goodness.
She did not fight that He had allowed her to be born with CF. She was
always more concerned about the others around her who suffered because they
loved her so much.
It would have been a joy and privilege to have shared the
rest of life here on earth with Donna.
She would have been one of my “safe” people. Perhaps you would have
known her and been blessed by who she was, too.
She was
my "little" sister.
Donna
Ruth Miller
March 27,
1951-December 1, 1970
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