INSPIRATIONAL: Robbie Cunningham - A TRUE STORY: A boy the world overlooked, but heaven remembered

by: Linda Kirby/WGON

In my youth, I was raised in a foster home—a cruel place to raise a child. Abuse hung heavy in the air, and hunger—of many kinds—was constant. There were twelve of us in that house, and the suffering was deep. But for one of us, it was worse.

His name was Robbie Cunningham.

Robbie was a young teen with the mind of… well, no age really. He couldn’t relate to the world or its demands. In 1964ish, we didn’t have gentle words for his condition. We called him “retarded,” not knowing how much that label erased. What he lacked in understanding, he made up for in innocence and silent courage.

Food in the home was scarce and never nourishing. We all knew the unspoken rule—ask for seconds, and you’ll regret it. But Robbie couldn’t remember rules. He was hungry. And he asked for more.

The foster “mother” lashed out, beating him about the head and back as he screamed and flailed. Eleven of us sat frozen around that table—too shocked to move, too terrified to speak. That image... it never left me. And neither did Robbie.

I wonder still if he’s out there somewhere riding his bike around town. Or if the Lord has already taken him home, where he is now whole and perfect and riding his bike over streets of gold.

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”— Psalm 23:4

And isn’t this world a bit like that foster home? We ask for what we need—some peace, some rest, some provision—and the world beats us down. We work hard, we hope, we try to fill our tables, and still come up short. But one day, that will change.

“My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”— Philippians 4:19

Unlike Robbie, who had no choice in his suffering or where he would live, we do have a choice now. We can choose to live in Jesus—the one who sees the forgotten, feeds the hungry, and tenderly welcomes the bruised. Or we can choose the world and let it batter our hopes, starve our children, make us slaves without enough to live on as compensation.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”— Matthew 11:28

Jesus wants us. Robbie may not have had anyone to claim him in this world, but I believe heaven knew his name. And maybe, just maybe, he’s riding a bike through glory right now, free and joyful. He’s perfect now with no disabilities at all.

So here’s the question, as gentle as a whisper:

Do you chose Jesus and love, joy, and all your needs met or do you chose this world and all it’s abuse, evil, and poverty? You have a choice, Robbie didn’t.