This group is not about 'fixing'; it is listening, loving, caring and stretching our integrity to be the 'sister' someone else will need someday.
The following came across my computer screen today, the very day of the week when Sacred Sisters meets. It SHOUTED loud and clear, what a gift that all these sisters in my life have been since January. This small group, friends from far and near and my own amazing sisters and sister-in-laws have all been walking alongside of me. I could never have done this without them. These wise words from an unknown author were a gut punch of reality.
“A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.
"Don't forget your sisters,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.'
'Remember that 'sisters' means ALL the women. your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women always do.'
What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'
But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her mother really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstays of her life.
After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:
Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do or you expect them to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........
Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach.
When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.
Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you....Or come in and carry you out.
Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family: all bless our life!
The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other.”
My months since Russ' death have been months of learning to say yes again. What else have I learned in the aftermath? I have learned to live life in ways Bob Goff encourages: Live in Grace, Walk in Love". I have learned I never need to regret being kind. I have learned that every decision I have made, both before and after Russ' death have consequences. And I have learned what a wise mother challenged her daughter to remember: "Don't forget your sisters."
I have been surrounded, carried on the wings of angels. I have been enveloped in love and care. I have been blessed by those who will sit beside me or on the other end of the phone call as my heart breaks (again) and I shed tears. As the author reminds me, my world wouldn't be the same without the sisters of my heart.