Yesterday it was a mini road trip to help my sister with her baby as she went a little farther from home than usual. We laughed and talked and listened to music from my iPod, we even enjoyed Burger King 89 cent soft serve ice cream cones (YUM!!). It was wonderful! The day ended by talking about funny jokes we had come up with that day, over carrot juice smoothies and spontaneous hugs.

Later last night one of my sisters camped out in my bedroom and we stayed up late talking about…well anything really. We can find something to say that will keep us up later than we planned and even make it worth it when we are tired all the next day.

Today one of my sisters came over to cut quilt squares for a quilt we are going to attempt to make. What might be important for you to know is that neither my sister nor I am proficient in quilt making…at least not yet. My mom however, knows a thing or two about quilting so she might save us from a fate worse than cheese wax.

These examples are really only something of a sentence in reference to a thousand page novel, metaphorically speaking, when it comes to the time that we spend together and the moments we spend in laughter and love.

When something cool happens to me I want to tell my sister, when something horrible happens to me I want to tell my sister. When I want to give a complement to a dear girlfriend, I call her my sister. When I need someone to watch a James McAvoy or even a John Cusack movie with, I talk to my sisters. We text, we facebook, we call, we visit and all the while we draw closer to each other. I am so thankful for my sisters and the people in my life who I have adopted as sisters. When we share times together we share love for each other.

My hope in writing this to you today is to inspire you to do something with your sis. Whether they are near or far, blood or almost blood, they are yours and each day and moment we share with each other can be a gift. Use it wisely.

Claire responded, “But I want to help. I won’t mess it up….”

Will Julia take advantage of the opportunity to work with her sister? Will she continue in solitude with negative energy toward Claire while she remembers past experiences of Claire knocking over books or pulling clothing from drawers? Julia will have to choose whether or not to open the door…

And so will we. Opportunities are knocking all around us. The relationships we have with those we love need to be nurtured just as the people we meet in the grocery store need our smiles. We choose each day whether we will bless others and ourselves with the opportunity to forgive and be forgiven, to love and be loved, to offer and to receive. Will we ponder on the blessings that come from these opportunities, or will we let the opportunities knock us into a rut where we bury ourselves with feelings of self-pity and malice?

What did Julia do? Well, she took a chance. She let the opportunity in…and now I hear laughter coming from the general direction of their bedroom. How long do you think it will last?