I took this picture this morning of Anna grabbing a handful of Ellie's hair. Even though the lighting is not great - I love this photo! It reminded me of another special photo.
Ellie just loves Anna. She always wants to hold her and play with her. And Anna just lights up when Ellie is around. Yes, I think these sisters will always have a special bond.
And this got me thinking about my sister Julie. Julie is 8 years older than me and I know that I have blogged about her before. Actually Lia and Anna are just about the same age spacing as Julie and I. Today while I was watching Ellie and Anna together, I was remembering some special little things about Julie and I.
So here is another not so great picture, but I just had to include it today. This is my sister Julie and I and I think this was taken 1963 Christmas when I was in 3rd grade. Julie most likely does not know WHY this picture was the one I picked today. So, here is the reason! I remember a special day sometime just before school started that year. I was going into 3rd grade. Julie took me shopping, downtown St. Paul. We went into all of the "Big" stores - places I had never been before. And she picked out this skirt and vest I am wearing in this picture. She let me try it on and then bought it for me, with her own money! I loved that outfit. It was so special to me. I know that I realized that Julie was working very hard to earn her money and yet she made a choice to get this outfit for me. Plus, it was the memory of that day that was special. Going shopping with Julie, being downtown, having lunch out, and then getting this special surprise. Whenever I look at this picture, I am so thankful to have had this sister time.
I love that Jesus planned our families. And I love the bond between sisters. Even that hair pulling stage! I learned such a valuable lesson from my sister on that shopping day. She taught me about being generous and making sacrifices and about that special love between siblings. Sometimes our best teachers are those that are closest to us. I am sure that each of us has memories like this. It may not have been a sibling, maybe it was a friend, or some other relative. Possibly it was a teacher, a neighbor that first got our attention by showing us special favor. This past weekend I saw a couple of videos on Facebook. Some young guys are sort of "testing" society to see how people react. They went to a shopping mall food court and approached various people. They said they were hungry and asked for food. All of the people said "no" or "sorry". But not a single person gave them food or offered them money. The next scene was these same young men bringing a fast food meal to a homeless man. They just walked up to him and offered him a couple of cheeseburgers, fries and a large drink. The homeless man accepted the meal with gratitude. The young men left him to his meal. At that point another young guy approached the homeless man and said he was hungry. WITHOUT A BIT OF HESITATION, the homeless man gave him one of the burgers and offered him fries and the drink. This story brought me to tears! But the message is clear. That homeless man knows exactly what it is to be hungry. He knows what it is to have nothing. When he has something, he is very generous and gives willingly.
I don't think there is anything else to say about this. I know that I will be considering this story in the days ahead. And I will be looking for that person who Jesus may be directing me towards. And I think I will call my sister!
Jesus, thank you for giving us examples of your very important lessons every day. Thank you for family and friends and thank you for those young men that brought a visual reminder for all of us. Holy Spirit, give us eyes to see and ears to hear the cries of the people around us. Thank you for your great love and care. Amen
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