Sisters And Friends

Sisters and Friends

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

As children, the three of us didn’t always see eye to eye. My two older sisters, Katrina and Kendra, were two years apart and had a close relationship. But as the baby of the family, born four years later, I sometimes felt like an afterthought.

Kendra and I didn’t really get along until she left home for college, but looking back, I’m sure the fault was mainly mine. After all, I did sometimes snoop through her closet, and I swiped her jeans countless times. Yet even with the way we occasionally sniped at one another, there were moments of sweetness. We played games and watched movies together, and there were many mornings I woke up to find her asleep on my floor after watching a scary movie with friends. And though the three of us could fight among ourselves, heaven help the outsider who spoke a bad word about us—my dad called Kendra “defender of the weak,” and she lived up to the strength of character and will that designation implied.

But with the advent of adulthood, marriage, and babies—and the loss of our sister Katrina—my relationship with Kendra has gotten sweeter. We don’t always agree, but we love and respect each other. I admire the way she’s chosen to live her life, the things that matter to her, and the woman of God she’s become. She is fierce, in all the best ways.

To love and honor one another can sometimes be a challenge, especially when navigating complex family relationships. Now that I am a mom of three daughters, my friendship with my sister has become a comfort and an encouragement to me. I pray that the ties that bind my own children together will one day deepen into the sweetness of friendship, as they have for me. One way we’ve already begun to cultivate that is by always refocusing on love: when my daughters fight, I ask them to pause and say three things they love about their sister. Choosing to see the best in others can lead all of us to deeper, richer friendships—with sisters, family members, or other people who fill those roles.

— Kristin

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Thank a sibling (or cousin, another family member, or someone who feels like family) for their friendship.