There have been countless times in my life where I've stood beside my sister.
I cannot remember the two years of my early life without her; she's always been next to me, as far as I can recall. We stood together during the rough times in elementary school, with the ups and downs of homeschool intensities. We stayed side-by-side in junior high, braving the parochial school after several years of homeschool. Our increasingly contrasting personalities made our alliance in junior high rocky, but we felt the need to maintain it, and did so even against our own inclinations. And when our family moved to the Philippines in our early teens, we had each other to cling to during the ensuing culture shock. Upon our return to the States, our friendship grew deeper, and we cultivated it further through daily prayer together during high school. I went away to college; we wrote letters. She came to college; we caught up with each other over the holidays. Then I left and we grew closer again.
There's been a pattern in our relationship: our love is most palpable when we go through the most difficult of seasons.
But it was my honor and joy to stand beside my sister on her wedding day in November: to love her without also shielding her from the attacks of outsiders, without ducking around our differences, without sobbing on her shoulder or holding her sobs in mine. ...With pure joy in her happiness and contentment in her peace. To say she was beautiful, to say she was radiant, to say she was in love, ...yes, all true... but what was most brilliant about her on her wedding day was her peacefulness.
As I stood beside her that day, I felt a different kind of closeness, as well as a new distance. We've bridged our distances in order to stand together in the past. This time, she built a bridge and crossed over it. And all I could do was thank God for her joy and His love made evident in the person of her new husband.
My God continue to bless you, my dear sister, and may we stand together again and again through this rugged journey of life.
3 comments:
"Sexy Bunny", as the "sister" in this operation, I beg to differ: God had and has EVERYTHING to do with it.
Shannon, thank you for this lovely post. It brought tears to my eyes. I love you too.
"Bunny," I'm so sorry you can "hardly believe" that God works in relationships; you are missing out on a tremendous part of life's beauty.
Portia, you confirm my reflections even in blog comments... 'gotta love the irony.
You are both so beautiful and not just on the outside. It makes me cry and remember my special day when my friends and family stood beside me. God's love and peace to you, Kitty
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