“There's one thing stronger than magic.... sisterhood." Robin Benway
I belong to a sisterhood. I have belonged to this sisterhood for 10 years now. We our bound by our faith. We come and go and come back again. We are bound by our desire to journey together. We call one another "My Sister in Christ." Whether we maintain a friendship outside of the sisterhood or not, twice a year, we gather and pray and laugh and cry and walk the road to Emmaus together as if we have never walked it before. Each time, a different experience.. a different "AHA" moment... a different connection... finding ourselves again... finding God again... setting our hearts on fire all over again....
I think that last night was the first time I had ever been to a meeting.... I usually just parachute in on the weekend of the retreat and serve wherever I am needed... I don't like to make commitments.. and going to all the preparation meetings leading up to the retreat, commits me to a specific task or job during the retreat... I like to go where the Spirit leads me once I get there... Anyway, while that seems fine and dandy, I thought, "It's time i grow up and commit to going to the meetings this time..." I have made a new commitment to God through the moon phase... and I intend to keep it..... in knowing myself and loving myself better, I will know God better... Of course, He knows what I need, but He cannot possibly give it to me, if I don't know what I need in order to be the blessed person He wants me to be...
It felt good to be in the prayer circle last night... it made me realize that sisterhoods (or brotherhoods or yoga groups or fitness groups or "whatever your heart desires" groups) are beneficial to everyone involved... I just happen to choose the Emmaus Ministry as my group... I do have other groups though... I have my "childhood friends" group... We are bound by childhood memories.. ice cream trucks, bicycles, barefoot kickball, Nehi soda, jolly rancher candy, Miller Road, Lake Catalina and Hidden Valley.... as adults, we come together as often as we can to continue "playing" .. just like when we were kids... except now, we bring our kids and we create new memories.....
I, also, belong to a group bound by the Spectrum... a group of people (mostly women) who share what goes on in their daily lives while trying to raise children in the Spectrum... I don't always relate to every story they post, but I offer my support and receive support from them when the day doesn't go so well for me with my kids... it's comforting to know that total strangers can connect on such a level that, by the end of the day, we feel the love from one another...
I hadn't really thought about the "sisterhood" thing until around 2:00 am... (yes, I was up at that time after a strange phone call from someone who clearly is alone in the world) ... this morning when I woke up, I wondered if it was all just a dream... I feel sad for this person today.. I feel sad for the people whose lives are being affected because of the frantic ranting... I could almost relate to it... I have had my share of breakdowns.. it's not pleasant for me or anyone around me, however, I like to think of breakdowns as "break-throughs" ... a time to come to terms with what stirs all those frenetic emotions and allows them to explode with practically total disregard for the people around you... the fortunate thing for me is............ I have a place to go back to to recover.... I believe God lets us stumble along, finding our way, giving us chances to pick each other up... and so, I go back to my sisterhood.... maybe I am wrong in thinking this person doesn't have a support group to turn to... if they do though, I hope they make their next midnight phone call to one of them...
Anyway, may you all have a "group" you can take refuge in... a group that lifts you up and sparks the light in your hearts until the flame is as constant as a beacon... (By the way, I neglected to mention family here because in my family, it is a given)..... however, sometimes I believe that in order to know yourself completely, you must extend your love to all of your brothers and sisters in the world.. those bonds are "chosen" ones... there is always an outstretched hand somewhere looking for a friend they would like to call "sister" .. or "brother" or simply "family" .... remember that you are loved beyond measure... you are a cherished blessing to the world...
May your weekend be blessed with bonds of LOVE....
Elena
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