On the Eve of My Sister's Wedding...

My sister is getting married tomorrow. She's only 16 months younger than me, and was not only my first friend, but the friend I've had the longest. For some reason, major life events always make me nostalgic, and sometimes make me weepy. I have found myself incredibly nostalgic over the past week...remembering all of the rides we shared to school, and how, if she was mad at me, she would tell me I had B.O. It was a calculated hit, and one that left me self-conscious and worried all day. In turn, she put up with a lot from me - more than I could even go into here. When she left for the Naval Academy the summer after she graduated, I felt like a big part of me was just going away. When her navy career ended after a few months and she decided to come home, what I had been missing was confirmed for me.

My sister Heather is an amazing woman. She's traveled the world, been to law school, lived all over the U.S. working for some amazing judges, and while many of her law school friends were wooed by offers from big firms, her goal was to get right back here to Colorado, so she could be near family. Heather has a generous heart and a wonderful laugh. She is the person that everybody asks about and misses at family gatherings, and the one we all look forward to seeing come in the door. Since she moved to Denver, the circle of women that has been central to all things in my life - Mom, Megan, Heather and me - has been complete. Today, as I watched her rehearsing her wedding vows and nervously holding the hand of her future husband, I couldn't help but wonder what God has in store for her and Bob; two people - both from strong families, both with a strong faith - who love each other so deeply.

Tomorrow, as I watch her walk down the aisle, surrounded by a sea of aunties in hot pink lipstick and friends in suits that cost more than my monthly mortgage, I'm going to focus on the heart of the beautiful woman in the ivory wedding dress. I'm choosing to believe that the little girl who used to sing her own songs and try to catch birds with me in our backyard, might still need a big sister every now and then. I'm choosing to focus on a new element of our relationship as grown women; the part where I get to watch her and her new husband grow in their love for each other, and where we get to know them as a couple. I know this is her heart's desire, and I'm thankful that I get to share in it.