The Miracle of Sisterhood

I'd waited for it for years.
But somehow I didn't know I was waiting;
didn't know what I was missing.
Oh, I'd had friends.  Good friends.  Close friends.
But sisters?
It wasn't till my mid-late 20's that these relationships were birthed.
While I look back and see a slow, small start as the seedling friendships began,
somehow I believe we always knew.
In our hearts, we knew it was the start of something deep and beautiful and lasting.
Sisters.

So though I don't have a biological sister or even a daughter, I knew exactly what one of my favorite bloggers and authors, Ann Voskamp, meant when she wrote this recent entry.  It touched me deeply.  For I've lived it.  The Miracle of Sisterhood.  My sisters have taught me exactly what it means to be loved like this...to give like this...to be faithful like this: What It Means To Have the Miracle of a Sister 

We've encouraged one another to love
our husbands and children.
We've learned to trust.
Become vulnerable.
Been honest.
We've kept one another accountable.
Sought godly advice.
Learned to forgive.
We've been the lifeline on the other end of the phone
when one needs perspective.
a laugh.
or simply to know they're not alone.
We've sipped coffee.
Sipped tea.
Done Chinese.  :)
We've watched movies.
Celebrated everything.
Laughed till we've cried.
We've rejoiced when the other sisters rejoiced.
We've wept when they have wept.
We've studied God's Word.
We've held hands in prayer.
We've watched children grow up.
Occupations change.
Sisters move away.

One precious sister moved far away three years ago.
And tomorrow, yet another will go.
My heart aches with a seemingly all-too-familiar ache.
I've been down this road before,
and to be honest with you,
I don't like it.
Yet through the increasingly familiar loss and change,
my heart is strangely peaceful and joyful.
For as Ann put it,
"...when [sisters] grow old and I grow older and there will be goodbyes for now, will they remember? No losses are ever losses when we love; what we love is always with us, becoming part of who we are."

So even when the heart aches and I will not to tear away from that last hug,
there is joy and hope and promise.
For because of our bond in Jesus,
we'll always be connected---
whether in this world or the next. 

It's the Miracle of Sisterhood.
And I am incredibly grateful to live it.