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Got Lemons? Make Lemonade!
By Craig Pinley
E. GREENWICH, RI (September 23, 2004) - There's an old adage that says "when
life gives you lemons, make lemonade." If her autobiography is any
indicator, Rudy Wilson
Galdonik is one of the best lemonade salespersons attending an
Evangelical Covenant Church.
Wilson Galdonik of Christ Church in Rhode Island has written Take
Heart: True Stories of Life, Love and Laughter (2004, Broad Horizons
Press), which
documents the physical struggles that have strengthened her faith and
the stories surrounding her life that help her to keep a healthy
perspective. The author begins her published story by stating, "I
believe we each have a voice, a purpose for being. When we recognize and
honor that purpose, we will be living our lives as God intended and
success will naturally follow." The success that Wilson Galdonik has
found lies in the
discovery of what God wants for each individual.
Diagnosed with a hole in her heart at age five, Wilson Galdonik wasn't
allowed to be very active physically and it was difficult for her to
discern what purpose God had for her life. "As I continued toward
adulthood, I clung to the only goal I felt I could one day achieve: that
I would one day in the distant future be the proud owner of a
fireplace," she writes.
Though she worked in human resources at a hospital and as a travel
agent, among other things, writing became Wilson Galdonik's passion,
even though it was a struggle at first. She discovered her muse in a
painful moment; when her husband was diagnosed with
cancer.
"I think it was a typical thing," she said in describing how she
discovered writing as her calling. "I was seeing all kinds of
reinforcement that I could write and yet I never pursued it from an
educational standpoint. But the day my husband was diagnosed with
cancer, I stepped into the parking lot and a statement was made in my
head: 'Write a book.' And at this point I thought, 'Like I have anything
better to do.' But I never forgot that statement. And it was a lot of
little pieces of the puzzling together over the period of 10 years."
Wilson Galdonik's husband died 13 months after the original diagnosis
and the struggle she had in grieving her husband's death led to a chance
conversation with a newspaper reporter who asked her to write about her
experience. Later, a church asked Wilson Galdonik to speak about her
struggles. Then, she began giving children's sermons at her church and
others told her that public speaking might be an avenue where God could
use her story to bring others to faith or renewed hope.
Over the years, personal physical troubles – including open-heart
surgery at age 25 – have turned into a blessing as Wilson Galdonik has
discovered that human weakness can be a bridge to relating to others.
Suffering is never enjoyable, she says, but while
reading certain parts of Wilson Galdonik's book, you wouldn't think the
multiple operations were any problem at all. Her stories of her hospital
visits, the patients that share her hospital room and the "Adonis-doc"
and others caring for her leave you
wishing you could suffer from a life-threatening physical malady yourself.
There are entire chapters that will have you laughing out loud every
time you turn a page – anyone who has ever read noted author Erma
Bombeck would appreciate Wilson Galdonik's prose. The story of "the
airport escalator that scared the crap out of her dog" is worth the
price of the book alone. Other chapters about her husband's cancer
diagnosis and eventual death are tear-jerkers too, and she writes about
a second open heart surgery as well. Overall, there are many poignant
lessons to be gained from her life story and both secular and Christian
audiences could appreciate what she has to say about how attitude
affects one's perspective on life.
"I'm the normal person like everyone else – I have my good days and bad
days," she says. "But people in the church community are there to lift
you up and you know you'll be able to rise to the challenge and
eventually you'll be able to use it to help someone else. I've had my
fair share of kicking and screaming with God. But I've found that when
I've been most incorrigible, that's when God has held me the closest.
And that seems to resonate with people."
Along with a rare ability to find the humor in life, Wilson Galdonik
said she has been blessed by the love of her church and family. She got
acquainted with her husband, Mike, (a church elder) during a mission
trip to Mexico. Two other products of God's faithfulness are her
children, Brad and Darah. Brad's adventures were a catalyst for her
entry into humorous writing.
Brad Wilson hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2001 and his mother emailed a
dozen or so friends with updates on the teenager's progress. Many
commented that she should write
similar articles about her own life. And eventually her email list
reached well over 100. She wrote a similar set of emails when her son
hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada last year – it can
be found at www.rudywg.com.
Wilson Galdonik writes and speaks for a living, but she makes a
difference in her community in other ways. She is the co-chair of the
American Heart Association's Women and Heart Disease Committee for
Southeastern New England and a member of the Association of Applied
Therapeutic Humor. She's also on the board of directors for the Adult
Congenital Heart Association.
To learn more about Wilson Galdonik, email her at Rudy@Rudywg.com.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
