Sisters

I never had a sister. But over the years, God has sent some pretty wonderful women into my life. Some of them I’ve known forever. Others not so long. Yet all of them have touched my life in extraordinary ways, and I will always be grateful for them.

A new friend recently became a special part of my life. Debbie knows a thing or two about breast cancer, having survived this horrible disease herself. For Christmas she sent me a sister ornament—my very first sister ornament ever. It’s an angel, and at the bottom is written “Sisters listen with their hearts and love with their souls.” That’s what sisters do. They listen and they love.

Awhile back, my friend Janet shared the following story with me. I wish I could give proper credit to the author, but I have no idea who she is. Here’s what she wrote about sisters.

A young wife sat visiting with her mother. They talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities and the obligations of adulthood.

“Don’t forget your sisters,” the mother advised. “They’ll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Be sure to go places with them now and then, do things with them. All the women in your life are your sisters—your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. You’ll need other women. Women always do.”

“What strange advice,” the young woman thought. “After all, I just joined the couple-world. I’m now a married woman, for goodness sake! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile.”

But she listened to her mother. She kept in touch with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her mom really knew what she was talking about.

As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstays of her life. Time passes. Life happens. Distance separates. Children grow up. Jobs come and go. Love waxes and wanes. Hearts break. Parents die. Careers end.

But sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the sisters in your life will be on the valley’s rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley’s end. Sometimes, they even break the rules and walk beside you. Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family—they all bless our lives. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. We didn’t know how much we would need each other.

Each day, we still need our wonderful sisters.