MY SISTER, MARILYN, AN AMAZING OVERCOMER

 

My sister, Marilyn, an Amazing Overcomer

My sister, Marilyn Cockrum, is a twin. Her twin, Carolyn Petersen, is still living but in a different location: heaven. They are/were identical. (Carolyn has a new body and a new name.) They were born premature and weren’t expected to live but they did. The earliest memory I have of them was them jumping off of our tall piano onto a wooden rocking chair. They were as cute as could be but were hyper and needed constant watching when they were little. Even so, they got through their childhood without any broken bones or major injuries. Carolyn did have encephalitis one summer and spent time in Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. She was about 8 or 9.

                They were femme fatales in high school but they were still fun-loving daredevils. They loved riding motorcycles. Both of them were witty and they were good singers. Carolyn sang lead and Marilyn sang harmony. Mom sang too and played the piano by ear. The twins enjoyed each other’s company, never wanting to be too far apart.

                After high school life took them down harder roads. Marilyn married and her husband, Larry, had to go to Vietnam. Carolyn’s husband escaped the draft. When Larry returned, he had a difficult time adjusting to a normal life. He slept outside with his rifle by his side for a while. He turned a room into a Vietnam and army museum. He had been around agent orange in Nam so when Marilyn got pregnant, she lost the baby. It was perfectly formed but teeny tiny. She went on to lose three more babies and then she lost Larry. The babies included twins and she lost them a month apart. As a side note, she and Carolyn were twins, our dad had a twin, I married a twin, and Dad’s twin’s son had twins. Marilyn’s losses continued because she lost a good job, a nice house, and her health. She later was unable to drive so she lost her car. A few years later she (we) lost a brother, our parents, a nephew, and then her twin. We have since lost another sister, Linda Overturf. Marilyn has had more diseases than I can name and yet she conquered most of them against all odds. She is now 72 and still going, though on an electric scooter.

                Although Marilyn has suffered so many losses in life, she will cheer you up if you go visit her. She has had her bouts of depression and still does, of course, but she has still got a quick wit. She’s at Heritage Woods now and is President of the residents’ committee. That’s not the correct title but I’m adlibbing it. I’ve always wanted to tell her story because it is such a testimony as to what an overcomer she is and how she never lost her faith and never had a fear of proclaiming the name of Christ. She deserves a pat on the back or a hug here on earth and heaven in the afterlife where she will have a big family and reunite with her twin.

(See Part 2)