SISTERHOOD

Sisterhood.  This is such a foreign concept to me.  I did not join a sorority in college.  I usually had one on one relationships in high school rather than traveling with a "pack" of girls.  I played softball and basketball and had many friends from team sports, but not sisters.  My biological sister and I fought from the day she exited the womb.  Our fights were so often and so bad that my father would make us fight in the front yard like boys.  There were bald spots from hair pulling and long scratches down arms.  She was the queen of grabbing a chunk and ripping it right out of my scalp.  My forte was a little like Wolverine from X-Men...  My claws were a thing to be reckoned with.

To this day, my sister and I have a very rocky relationship.  I wish it were different but have accepted that it is what is.  It bothers me most during the holidays when we are sitting across the table from each other and the conversation is very cordial.  That's when I miss having a sister the most.

But it was not until a few weeks ago that God revealed to me that I have something very precious.  I have three sisters!!!  The first is my sister in law Karen.  Karen welcomed me with open arms into her family.  She accepts me for exactly the way I am.  She makes me laugh and her annual summer visit to the farm is something we look forward to for months.  Karen has mailed family photos to me of my husband's parents who were deceased before we married.  Although they are no longer with us, it makes me feel like I'm connected to their whole family.  Early on in our relationship we started calling each other SISTA and still do to this day.

My second sister is Vickie.  Vickie and I worked together and were assigned to implement a new customer in Mexico.  This required hours and hours of work and days on end of being cooped up with each other in a hotel.  We bonded immediately.  We've been through divorces, spiritual transformation, kids growing up and life trials.  Vickie and I pray together on the phone and tell each other things we really don't want to hear, but need to hear.  It's funny that Vickie started calling me TITA.  This is what my biological sister called me when she could not pronounce sister.

My third sister is Karen C.  Karen and I met at church.  She is 20+ years my senior.  I don't exactly remember how we bonded or why.  It just happened.  I felt an immediate connection to her.  Karen C. has been in my life for about 3 years now.  One day at church she took me aside and said "you remind me so much of myself at your age".  Little did I know that Karen would become my Stephen Minister and walk along with me during a very challenging time in my life.  We meet once per week and she just listens.  She reads scripture to me and loves me.  She calls me LITTLE SISTER.

Now, I started this blog telling you how much I've missed having a sister and being a part of that thing called sisterhood.  But now I realize that God hand picked not one, but THREE sisters for me.  They all have different names....SISTA, TITA, and BIG SISTER.  They are all precious to me.  I am a better person because they are a part of my life!