I knew it would be touch and go for my ladies day in Warner Robins, Georgia yesterday because of the laryngitis issue that has hung around for way too long. There are bad things; no singing along with the Pandora, no cheering for my favorite kids at Lads to Leaders, no phone chatting with Ezra lately. But there are good things like getting Glenn to answer my phone, drinking lots of spiced tea with honey and no husband nagging!
I also knew that my sister, Celine Sparks was going to have a tough time with her ladies day in West Virginia because she also has has coincidentally succumbed to laryngitis at the same exact time as I.
But when I called my dad and he told me that my other sister, Sami Nicholas, was also preparing for a ladies day in Georgia and that she also had laryngitis, I argued with him. “No, Dad, you’re mixed up. It’s Celine and me that are speaking this weekend and it’s us that can’t talk—not Sami.” But Dad was persistent, and sure enough, when I finally got Sami on the phone, she was obviously worse than Celine or me and she was speaking, or trying to speak, in Cedartown, GA.
It was amazing that all three of us had the same debilitating issue, trying to do the same job and we had not even been in the same proximity of each other. (Maybe the devil is just trying to shut us up!) I guess it’s those spring pollens and perhaps a family allergy to them?
At any rate, it got me thinking. Sisters are like that. We suffer from the same problems and face the same challenges. Sisters in the Lord have so very much in common. The big problem is sin and we all suffer from all of its direct and indirect consequences as we go through our days. This is true even if we do not personally know each other and if we are not even in the same proximity.
Secondly, sisters in the Lord are all trying to do the same job. Just like the three of us were working toward the same weekend goal, even though we were not together, spiritual sisters are all working toward the same eternal goal. We want to get to heaven and our primary job is to take our families there with us.
Finally, we all have the same Father and he does know what we are doing. Sometimes, we argue with him and often we do not understand that He does know best. But He is our Father. He IS keeping up with us—our problems, our plans and our schedules.
The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him (Nahum 1:7)