What Is a Sister?
Sisters come in all different forms. Most have the same mother and father, right? Well, Gloria was my half-sister (we had the same mother). She was two years older than me and was my hero when we were very young latchkey kids. She saved my life a few times when we were home alone and burglars broke in.
Some sisters grow up together. We were separated a lot. She had the unique gift of making me laugh no matter how difficult the circumstances were. We would laugh until the tears rolled down our faces and we were gasping for air. That sense of humor has lasted our entire lives.
Some sisters grow old together. We didn’t have that privilege. This picture was taken later in life, in January of that year, when we all knew that she was terminally ill. She was gone by March. I miss her terribly.
God blessed me with two other half-sisters (we have the same father). We were born into a family of professional musicians, and our family loves to sing together. We enjoy switching parts, laughing as we try to sing bass and making harmony as we go.
You see, I was sent to live with my dad and his wonderful young family in Memphis for two years when I was in the 9th grade and my mother left for California. You’ve read of Robert Frost’s famous quote, “Home is the place where when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” Well, this precious family not only took me in but has loved me unconditionally from the time these two were toddlers. We still love each other today. Two thousand miles have never stopped us from being close and for every important event in my life, they have come from Memphis to California to stand with me.
My daughters have loved exploring together since they were toddlers. Here they are digging for sand crabs. They grew up singing, too.
Once in a while a brother is in the mix as we see here with my sister Gloria’s four kids.
But not all sisters are sisters by birth. One of the joys in life is having friends who become close friends and finally become sort of adopted sisters by choice. It’s never too late to meet new friends who can become sisters to you. I met my best friend eleven years ago at a group luncheon that we were both new to. We both grew up being new kids a lot, having moved so much, so we had learned to pro-actively introduce ourselves when we were newcomers. We noticed each other circulating and introducing ourselves – no one else was.
Later, it didn’t take long to discover how much we had in common. Pretty soon she started calling me Sis, and I call her Bubbles because of her delightful enthusiasm no matter what the circumstances of life bring. Her effervescence spills over to everyone around her. A few days after we met, her husband said that he knew that we would be best friends because we have so much in common. Not only have we both had moved often, but we were high school cheerleaders and were teachers early in life.
But best of all there is a deep emotional connection, an understanding, and a love for the Lord.
We have been weekly prayer partners for over ten years, and we’ve been there for each other through some of the biggest challenges in our lives. Even through the pandemic, we have prayed by phone. And, oh, the prayers we have had answered!
But that’s another story….
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