Sisters!

When I was three my parents thought it would be a great idea to have another kid.  And by great idea, I mean they didn't plan it at all, but boy did we get a surprise!  At the ripe old age of 3 1/2 I had to start sharing my title as daddy's little girl with a blonde headed blue eyed princess named Brennan Miles Mitchell!  Little did I know that this diva was going to turn into my absolute best friend in the whole wide world.  Evidently when we she was a baby I would beg mom to let me hold my little sister and I would tell my mom that she was my baby.  Aren't I precious?  I wasn't always that sweet with her...there were also days further on down the road where my brother and I would tie her hands and feet up with belts when mom and dad left us home alone and stick her in the bathtub so she couldn't get out, and I believe Braden and I are part of the reason Brennan will no longer eat beef or pork.  We used to tell her when she was little and she would eat hot dogs how sad it was that she killed an animal to eat that.  We made sure to give her a hard time as often as possible.

Brennan and I grew up sharing a bed room until sixth grade.  I'm sure we had plenty of bonding over those years.  At that point in time I was the messiest kid in the world and I'm sure it drove her crazy to be living in a pig sty.  When I was in middle school and high school I remember having our fair share of fights, but once I went off to college we began to get super close.

My freshmen year of college was her freshmen year of high school.  We no longer lived in the same house, and I was starting to miss the little princess, so each week I would check her out of school, pick her up for lunch, and take her out to eat.  I truly looked forward to that 50 minutes together each week.  I would say that was where the true bonding began!  She was starting to change from my little sister to a dear friend.

My sophomore year of college I went to Honduras for 6 months.  I wasn't suppose to come back to the states until the middle of November, but one day when I was talking to Brennan and I asked her what she wanted for her 16th birthday which is October 25th she said, "All I want for my birthday is for you to be here."  Huh?  How in the world was that suppose to work?  I was in another country!  After a little thought and planning with my mother, I decided to head home a few weeks early from Honduras to surprise Brennan for her birthday.  My sneaky mom didn't even tell my dad that his daughter was returning after 5 months away.  I got in late on October 24th and Brennan had already gone to bed.  The little princess needs her beauty sleep.  The next day my mom picked Brennan up for a birthday lunch, but little did Brennan know that I was hiding in the back of the mini van.  When I popped up she screamed and started crying.  Needless to say she was a little surprised!

There were other important times of bonding over the next few years, but none stands out more to me than the night my sister decided to be baptized.  It was the Summer going into her senior year of high school and I had been interning all summer in Jonesboro, AR with the Southwest Church of Christ.  I was sitting in church one Sunday morning a couple of weeks before we were leaving for camp at Lipscomb and I really felt like God placed it on my heart that I should invite Brennan to go with us to Impact.  After clearing that with my wonderful bosses I called up my lil sis to see if she would want to fly up to Nashville for a week of camp with people she had never met before in her life.  Surprisingly she agreed, although when I look back at it, I'm not at all surprised she agreed because I know that the Spirit was at work!  The final night of camp we are standing for the invitation song and I scooted down to be by my little sister.  Before this point in time I had never been one to be too bold with what I said to my sister when it came to matters of faith, but God spoke through me to her that night.  Before I could figure out what I was saying I blurted out to her...."What are you waiting for?"  She kind of gave me the cold shoulder for a second, but the next thing I know she grabs my hand and pulls me with her down the aisle.  I instantly broke into tears.  I can't explain the joy I felt knowing that my sister was going to turn her life fully over to our awesome God.  I am so thankful to our Holy God that I was able to share in that experience with her.  What a blessing it is to watch your biological sister be transformed into your sister for eternity!  Praise Him for He is good!

Right after Brennan's baptism

After that Summer in Jonesboro I finished out my senior year of college at OC and Brennan finished up her senior year of H.S. at Edmond Memorial. She decided that she was going to head off to Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN and I ended up moving to Little Rock, AR to work at PV.  Over the past year and a half the two of us have grown even closer together, even though we no longer live in the same state.

The two of us are about as opposite as you can get, but we have the most important thing in common!  We both LOVE the Lord with all of our heart!  Just to give you an idea of how different we are...Last time I was in OKC with the fam Brennan and I went shopping.  She was dressed up in a skirt with her hair all curled and her bright red lipstick and I was in my gym shorts, t-shirt, chacos, no make-up and was sporting a messy pony tail.  She's funny and I'm not!  She's artsy and I'm not!  She's a fashion diva and I'm not.  We are so very different, but I love and admire this girl so much!  She has such a huge heart for people.  She is constantly seeking for ways she can make people feel welcome and show them God's love.  I know that God is working in her and through her in incredible ways.

I am so thankful for the few times a year that I get to spend with my bestest friend in the whole wide world.  I love it when she calls me just to catch me up on all the crazy things that are happening in her life.  I love it when I get to hear about how God is using her.  I'm so thankful that she took my place as the baby of the family and that God blessed me with such an incredible little sister!