Little Sister

So, I have this little sister and her name is Sarah.  My earliest memories of her are that she was the baby of our family.  And a pretty cute one at that.

Also, I think she was my Grandpa’s favorite.

As we grew older, I remember her being smart and funny.  She loved to play “school” and always wanted to be a mom and have a big family when she grew up.

We definitely had our differences.  As most sisters do, I think.  But I always admired her hard work and her many talents.  She started playing the piano in elementary school (and is still an incredible piano player to this day) and she ended up homeschooling herself for her last few years of high school.  The best thing about her though, was her heart and love for the Lord.  She spent many years serving in our church and worked with children in a variety of programs too.  Oh, and if you grew up in a Baptist church like I did, or are familiar with the AWANA program, you’ll be impressed to know that after many years working through the AWANA books, she earned the Citation Award as well.  It’s a pretty huge accomplishment and just testifies to her hard work and diligence for biblical learning.

When I was in college, Sarah had a heart surgery to correct a coarctation of the aorta.  I had to Google it to get the right terms, but it was a pretty big surgery and thankfully God brought her through it beautifully.

I was most happy for Sarah when she got engaged to be married to her now husband, Don.  I knew it was what her heart had always desired.  And there’s something beautiful about seeing people that you love find joy in following the dreams that God has for them.

Shortly after Sarah was married, she and Don started their family.  She went on to have two beautiful girls.

And three amazing boys (only one who is pictured here, of course).

It’s not been the easiest road, but in the past years, God has richly blessed my sweet little sister with an incredible family of five wonderful children.  Most days, I have no idea how she does it.  She has an immaculate and beautiful home, she cooks good healthy things for her kids to eat and she just started homeschooling her oldest this year.  And through it all, she’s continued to have a great love for the Lord and for living out His plan for her life.

All that being said, these past few months have not been easy for my little sister.  The birth of her fifth baby in December left her with some different health concerns that she has had to work through these following months.  And it all came to a peak yesterday, when she ended up having two surgeries (one planned, but the other one unplanned).  Though there were some serious and life threatening complications, she came through them both and we are so thankful.

(in the picture below, she is pictured with four of her now five 🙂

I had the chance to talk to my sister briefly today.  It was good to hear her voice, but my heart is hurting for her.  Because of the complications of her second surgery, circumstances have changed some of the plans and dreams that she had for her life.  And my heart is grieving with her.  My sister’s heart is sad for her heart.  Because it’s just so hard to see someone that you love hurting.

So I write this all to ask for prayers for my sweet little sister.  She is still in the hospital and needs time for her body to heal but most of all for her heart to heal as well.  I know that God works in prayer and I know that He will see her through this difficult time.  Prayers would also be great for my older sister Leslie, who has twelve little and big ones in her home (Seven are hers and five are Sarah’s… oh, and she’s pregnant with her eighth too).  She’s definitely got her hands full, as she is caring for Sarah’s children while she is in the hospital.  Thank you all so much.