Day 11 of the 20-day Journal Challenge

Assignment: Pick someone who is a hero in your life, and write about him or her.

Words. They’re inadequate when it comes to expressing feelings. If I were a composer or artist, I might come closer to revealing my heart. Unfortunately I’m neither. Nor am I a writer. How do I begin?

I’ve loved my sister even before I knew she was a Bonnie and not a Patrick. My first memory of her goes back to our days in Roanoke, Virginia. Her alien cries were a bit scary to me, but I remember being enamored by the little Smurf 8 years behind me.

Growing up, Bonnie was easy to love. She was cute, and sweet, and she generally let me boss her around. Her biggest weakness was her sensitivity, of which Tim and I took full advantage. We used to tease her about never wanting to move out. She vowed to live with Mom and Dad forever. Try as we might, we could not convince her that her idea was ridiculous.

Fast forward.


Bonnie got married. She had 2 CUTE kids. And yada yada yada…she got divorced.

I remember hearing the heartbreaking news while we were on a month-long rotation in Utah. We couldn’t come home and we couldn’t hug her. I felt utterly useless. My heart broke a little more each time I allowed myself to imagine the repercussions of her situation.


We eventually did get to go home. To my great sadness I found my sister quite changed. Bonnie, who once laughed so easily, didn’t find much to be happy about anymore. She had boarded up the windows to her soul and switched to survival mode.

She took great care of her two babies, though it was a great challenge. Fortunately, she had the help of our parents which made it possible for her to stay at home during this time. Bonnie started to formulate a plan for climbing out of her circumstances. She eventually went back to school and started plugging away at the required courses for a nursing program. School was daunting, and nothing seemed to fall into place in the timetable she desired. Finally, she got into the 2-year program she wanted.

It was about this time that Rick and I moved to Ohio. I felt terrible about not being available to help her out with the kids. Rick felt badly about not being available to help her out with school. We watched her struggle along from a distance, unable to be of use to her.

It turned out that Bonnie didn’t need our help. We totally underestimated her strength. She rose to the challenge of being full-time mother and full-time student. She even managed to hold a church calling and a part-time job. The singles scene has yet to bear fruit, but Bonnie is confident in her new role as independent woman. It is this new-found quality which I most admire in her.
Bonnie is graduating from nursing school in a few short weeks. The coming months will quickly bring major changes to her life. I’m not worried about my little sister though. She’s been through the fire and come out more refined and resilient. I’m beyond proud of her and I can’t wait to see what she tackles next.

You’re truly a wonder woman Bon! I love you!