My little Lexi

There are things in life that I do not understand, and one of these things that puzzles me to death is how siblings become astranged.  I don't understand it.  The bond between brothers and sisters it that that should rival all. 

I will be the first to tell you that at times my three siblings have pushed me almost past the point of sanity, but that doesn't mean I love them any less. 

We have had our fair share of fights and agrguments...let me give you some highlights.  When we were young, Lexi and I got into a fist fight.  Yes, my sweet little sister, and sweet little me, threw man punches right into each others faces.  When mom saw us however, she was not all for the "let them duke it out approach like she would have been if we were boys, but instead hill-billy handcuffed (a.k.a. duct-taped) our wrists together (My right to her left since she is right handed and I am left; with washrags to keep it from sticking to and hurting our skin) and made us clean and do yard work as a team.

Of course we were both still angry with one another, so we did the classic pull-in-opposite-directions-until-we-both-fall-on-our-butts move.  When we finally came to terms with the fact that we had to work together, it really strengthened our relationship.  We didn't have another real fight until my junior year of high school. 

We went to a very tiny high school, and were both lucky enough to be in the "popular crowd."  I was pulled in my freshman year, being deemed the "token freshman" by some of the senior basketball players, and was sweet and loveable, and didn't have to put forth much effort to stay in the top crowd.  When my junior year rolled around and my baby sister was going to be a freshman, I was beyond excited at the prospect of bringing her in with me. 

Unfortunately, at the time, Lexi had it in her head that you had to be really mean and rude and walk on people to stay where you wanted to be, and long story short, she called me a b**** in front of a bunch of people.  Of course this spread like wildfire, and we took the argument home, screaming and yelling for a good 10 minutes back and forth in front of our parents, bawling and lashing out.  This is the only time I actually remember our parents letting us yell at each other.  When I couldn't take anymore, I lowered my voice, and used silky words to cut her straight to the bone, then turned and walked into my room. 

Our parents, being the incredible parents that they are took us to opposite floors of the house, Mom with Lexi and Daddy with me; to talk to us.  When we had cooled down enough to be in the same room, my dad looked each of us in the eye and told me something I will never forget.  "Your sister will be your greatest ally if you let her."

And she has been ever since.

My sister means more than the world to me.  She is a confidant and friend, but even moreso than that, she is a support system.  I will be eternally grateful for her. 

Which is why I think it is so important to convey the fact that you need your siblings.  God gave them to you for a reason.  There is no point in being so stubborn that you cannot accept the gift that you have in them. 

Now I realize that there are some extenuating circumstances out there where it really is important that the person separate themselves from their biological family for the sake of their own safety and I am not in any way shape or form refering to those; but eternally separating yourself from your own flesh and blood for petty reasons and manuverable disagreements seems so ridiculous to me, because I have been there.  I know what it takes to get through them. 

And I know that the journey is so much easier with a hiking buddy. 
So my challenge to you is to put aside your differences.  Consciously choose to make an effort to unburn bridges that were destroyed in the past.  I truly believe you will never be sorry you did.

Just some thoughts!

Lacy Brianne