Sisters, sisters...

This is my baby sister, Sandra.  I began praying for a sister when I was 7 years old.  And God gave me what I asked for.  Mom was surprised.  She was born when I was 8--and I lugged her around everywhere.  My hip was permanently shifted out to the side from carrying her on my hip.  I remember her first spanking from my parents.  I cried.  Oh my gosh!!  My heart was breaking from that first spanking.  Fortunately, my parents didn't do that very often.  I remember when she was about 4 and she fell off of the kitchen cabinet she'd climbed up on.  (She was a climber!)  The last thing I'd remembered was that she'd had a sucker in her mouth.  She fell off the cabinet and cried loudly and then held her breath (we all were breath-holders).  I began screaming to my parents that there was a sucker in her mouth.  My dad was digging down her throat when my mom found the sucker on the floor.  Oh.my.gosh.  This is probably the reason I don't do well in emergencies to this day.  I was scared to death!
It was so much fun being her big sister.  I helped her learn to walk.  I picked her up from the babysitter's house and kept her in the afternoons until mom got home from work.  She loved my boyfriend--in fact, I think he liked her more than me!  I invited her to come stay in my dorm room when I was in college.  (She was about 11 years old at the time.)  She was the candlelighter in my wedding (she was 12).  And...Andy & I came home early from our honeymoon because mom had surgery and wasn't doing well.  Sandra was staying with friends and I knew she'd be very insecure...so we invited her to our new home and she stayed a few days with us honeymooners.  I've always felt very protective of my baby sister.
She has become a beautiful woman--wife, mother, servant.  She has 5 children who are great kids!  I know how much she loves her family.  And she's such a servant--always helping with children and youth in her church.  She gives of herself without complaining.
Andy is out of town on a mission trip, so I asked Sandra to come over Saturday and go to the movie with me, eat out, and just hang out.  Because of our many children and my grandchildren, we very seldom get to spend time alone.  But when we do, I remember how fortunate I am.  I'm blessed that God heard the prayer of a 7-year-old and gave me a baby sister.  I'm blessed that I've gotten to be a part of her life growing up.  And it blesses me when I'm around her.  In fact, I can just be around her children and be blessed--seeing the results of her influence on them.  And she's become a wise woman.     She's quiet about it.  In fact...she reminds me of our dad.  He would just listen, show acceptance and love, and just interject a word or two.  He never wanted to interfere or give advice.  But when he did speak, I listened.  The same is true with Sandra.  She doesn't know it, but I listened this weekend to the few things she quietly offered.
Sandra is a woman worthy of praise.  God has done such a special work in her life.  She's pretty quiet and unassuming.  But her influence will only grow.  She has a big heart and loves deeply.  She's a pretty special sister and someone I love being around.  She doesn't realize how wide-spread her ministry really is....and will be.  But I love seeing how God is using her.  What an encourager!!  I'm proud to say she is my sister.