I miss my sister.

Have you ever missed someone so much that it actually hurts your heart? You can feel the emptiness.  You can feel the hole inside your soul.  And nothing or  no one can replace that which is lost.

 I have.  I miss my sister.

My two sisters  are some of the dearest people I know on this earth.  There is a bond that cannot be broken by the love of a sister.  We share that deep connection that cannot be explained in words.  We all share a deep sense of understanding and acceptance with eachother. We can feel eachother's thoughts and heartaches.  We can hear eachother's  voices and know that she is holding back tears.  We can sense fear, frustration, happiness or sadness...before the words even come out.  We can read eachother's body language, because we have the same language.  My sister's are a huge part of my world! 

I miss my sister.

I have one sister who I do life with.  We eat pizza together.  We let our kids run wild in the backyard mud with bowls and spoons!  We make eachother a cup of coffee and chat about our day.  We train our children together.  We homeschool together.  We discuss parenting, God, and what life lessons we are learning.  We trade kids and help watch eachother's kids, when we want to go on a date with our hubby. We do errands for one another.  We live close enough to do the little stuff that make up life.  We are buddies.  She challenges me.  She encourages me.  She sacrifices for me.  She takes care of me.  She listens to me.  She celebrates with me.  She is a best friend.

I love my younger sister.

I have another sister who brings tears to my eyes, as I write about her.  (Because I miss her like crazy!) She is thousands of miles away.   She is in another time zone.   It feels as though she is on another planet.  She lives deep in the heart of the amazon jungle of Peru.  She is a missionary there with her husband and four small children.  She has sacrificed the comforts of the USA, in order to live with the tribes and share the love of Jesus.  She has been gone nearly two years now.  We have skyped only a couple times.  We e-mail eachother a few times a month.  I think about her everyday.  I pray for her everyday.  When I climb into my new SUV and turn my seats on "warm"....I think about my sister.  I feel horrible that I am seating on leather seats with the warmer on and she is getting sea-sick on a long boat ride down the amazon river. When I microwave my kids dinner leftovers, I wonder what animal her husband shot and brought home for her to chop up and lay of the firewood to feed the tribes.  When I take a hot shower, I think of how my sister bathes in the river with creepy creatures swimming by.  When I fold fresh "Tide" laundry, I think of my sister hanging clothes on a wire across the hut, in the rainy season of the jungle this time of year.  I cannot express how it feels on the inside to have a sister so far away...living life so differently. I feel guilty of the pleasures I have in Southern California.  There are some days I simply cannot enjoy my turkery sandwich, because I know my sister is out there trying to start a fire with rain-soaked-wood!  My life here is so easy. 
But what is not so easy... is missing my sister and her family.

I miss the simple stuff.  I miss going to dollar day at the thrift store together.  I miss swimming in the pool in her backyard with all our kids.  I miss hearing her play piano and sing.  I miss sitting on her couch and smelling the vanilla soy candles.  I miss our drive-thru adventures at Bakers getting an ice-cream cherry shake.  I miss hearing her advice about how to handle my tough little boy.  I miss baking chocolate chip cookies and eating them fresh out of the oven.  I miss seeing my kids play "Little House on The Prarie" with their cousins.  I miss Christmas at her house.  I miss her white roses at the front porch.  I miss her green grass and big tree in the front yard.  I miss our sleepovers and late night talks.  I miss calling her at any time of day.  I miss sitting in the sunshine, sipping her famous Lipton tea.  I miss our memories.

Have you ever missed someone so much that it actually hurts your heart? You can feel the emptiness.  You can feel the hole inside your soul.  And nothing or  no one can replace that which is lost.

 I have.  I miss my sister.