If you have a sister, you can remember how you felt at one point about them when you were younger, and how you may have looked up to them, wished they would leave you alone, or how your life seemed to be measured somehow by who they were or were not. I watch my girls and see a lot of the same things, and how they seek some definition of who they are measured by the other one. It’s a constant thing I remind them of, their uniqueness and the intentionality of God for it. Some days they need their own space, and some days they don’t click at all, but most days, there’s an obvious bond that will never be broken. I watched this in multitudes after our move and as we all bonded together more and more just to feel normal. As with life, everyone had days that were hard. What I saw is each time, everyone dropped their differences immediately, and offered hope to the other. Watching Libby be there to comfort her little sister as she grieved her friends, old neighborhood and home will be a life memory I’ll never forget. The big sister who usually isn’t interested in hugs from Ella, her little sister, is suddenly wrapped around her speaking words of comfort and encouragement. As days come that make them sad or miss what they once knew, I get to see visions of Libby holding her little sister while she cries, our family holding hands and praying, and the bond gets stronger. Laughter and joy dominate us now, and it seems great and deeper each day. I love that they have each other, and they can see a clear design for who they are and their purpose in it. I am thinking of my sister today, too, and how completely different we are, and yet how much love is wrapped into that word, “Sister” making differences irrelevant. Since God gives us a new heart, I believe there’s a beautiful kind of love meant for sisters, and if they can just embrace who they were made to be, they’ll appreciate and celebrate the differences and see the possibilities of what they can do together for the world.
Here’s a shot of Ella trying to read Narnia. Because her sister reads big books, she’s pretty sure she will too. She stopped after a chapter and wanted to watch the movie instead. Great freedom in trying, and we all love freedom.
I think I love the following shot because it’s so much of what us ‘younger sisters’ did as kids. Watching our fearless older sisters from afar considering that maybe we can accomplish what they accomplish. What I love most is that Ella did, in time, join her sister.
