When God gave me a little sister 40 years ago today, I never guessed she’d end up being one of the biggest blessings in my life.
I remember holding her when I met her at the hospital and telling Mom and Gran that there had to be a mistake because I was supposed to be getting a baby brother. They laughed and told me I’d get used to her.
Over the years we fought like cats and dogs- and I still have the scars from her fingernails to prove it!!- but I have always been fiercely protective over her. That’s the big sister’s job, right?
This past year has been the worst of my life- if you know, you know. And if you don’t know, then just trust me when I say I have not only been at rock bottom, but been dragged across it and had salt rubbed in the wounds life left all over my heart and soul. Through it all I have tried to keep going and stay positive, but it has not been easy, and my sister has been the main one to carry me through.
On the days when I couldn’t see the sunshine, she sent encouraging messages, inspirational quotes, and Bible verses to lift me up. When I needed to vent or cry, she listened, and when I felt like giving up, she refused to let me. When money got too tight, she did her best to help me keep my bills paid. My sister and I have always been close in our adult lives, but this year brought us together in ways I couldn’t even imagine before. So today, on the 40th anniversary of her birth, I have to celebrate her and tell the world what an incredible person she is.
My sister is deeply kind and loving, and she will do anything for the people she loves- even to the point of sacrificing her own needs for others’. She is so beautiful, but refuses to see her own beauty and the way her laugh lights up the room. Her sensitive soul makes her deeply compassionate and caring, and her skills as a mother are a testament to her quiet strength (which she got from our daddy, no doubt). To know her is to love her- as is shown by the connection she has with all the children and families she has worked with over the years- and those who are lucky enough to have made a friend out of her are truly blessed.
However, nobody has been blessed more than I have to have grown up with her in my life; I thank the Lord for blessing me with my sister all those years ago. I pray that He will give her everything in this world that she deserves- because she deserves all the best.
I pray you have the happiest of birthdays, Cassie!!
