I look out for my younger sister.  She is very important to me.

Most people would rather turn their heads and look away.  You see, my sister is handicapped.  She was born this way.  She cannot walk or talk.  She has always been in a wheelchair and requires much in the way of care.

Mama and papa had her placed in a nursing facility when she was seven.  I didn't like it one bit because I felt that she didn't deserve to be there; she was the youngest one out of the other patients, and besides, I didn't think she would get the care that she needed.

Until I turned eighteen, all we could do was go and visit her.  Then papa got sick and died, and mama didn't last much longer.  I guess it was because all the worry and stress they were under.  Two months after my eighteenth birthday, I took Colinda out of the home and decided that I would be her caretaker.  I didn't care if she needed feeding, changing, or bathed: I was more than willing to take care of my sister.

It's been that way ever since.  Funny, but it seems that Colinda has been healthier these past five years than all those years she spent in the nursing home.  She hasn't been in the hospital for several years now, and I pray this continues.  I have had to give up my job to devote my time to her care, but personally, I don't care. 

Colinda needs me, and I need her.

Colinda is the glue that holds me together.  If I am having a bad day, all I have to do is go to her and tell her my problems.  She doesn't talk, as I said earlier, but she understands, and she is a great listener.  I see it in her eyes, and on her face.  She will reach over and pat me on the shoulder or arm, as if to tell me, "It's gonna be okay.  I love you."

I know she has a trust in God.  Whenever I take her to church on Sundays, her face positively glows.  It's like she is having Jesus standing right there, beside her, and she knows that one day she will be perfectly whole:  able to run, able to walk, able to talk and express her true st feelings.  I know she has asked Him into her heart, and it makes me feel good to know that she will be going to Heaven when He comes back to take His children home.

In fact, it was Colinda (and another friend) who led me to the Lord.  My sister got this look on her face, as if to say, "Sister, you need Jesus", and our friend told me the same thing.  I gave my heart to Him the next time we went to church.  I went up to the altar, right in front of everybody.  Afterwards, my sister was practically bouncing with joy in her wheelchair; I knew she was very proud of me, and it made me feel good inside.

I wish sometimes I could go and work, but as long as Colinda is with me, she's my main focus in life (besides God and church, of course).  I will take care of her until either I am unable to or until God calls her home.  God provides for our family:  members of our church come to volunteer their time to help us by going to the store for us, giving us cash (I tell them this isn't necessary, but they don't listen!), or just providing a listening ear whenever I am having a bad day.

It isn't easy sometimes, but God gives me the strength to carry on.  I am more than happy to do all I can for my sister, to make sure she is happy, clean, and comfortable.  As long as she is, then that is all that matters to me.