There are many things I will miss this year during the Christmas season. Granted, I know that when I signed up for the World Race, I would be giving a lot of things up for a year, including a “Blattner family Christmas,” filled with family, friends and Colorado snow. However, the one thing I’ve been missing the most lately with the Christmas season all around me is my little sister, Sarah. Sarah is eighteen years old, a freshman in college, and the funniest and most gorgeous woman you’ll ever come in contact with. Ever. Period. She is the love of my life, my other half and my best and oldest friend. A particular afternoon at the barrio made me miss Sarah even more than I already did…
I had the honor of spending the afternoon with Claudia, the woman Lord healed of arthritis last week (read my blog “In the Darkest Places, Christ Shines the Brightest” for the story). This particular afternoon, however, her sister also came to spend time with us. Ramona, Claudia’s younger sister, is 88 years old and is just as precious and beautiful as her big sister. The two women have grown up and lived in the river barrio their entire lives and they’ve gone from living in the same house as girls, to living two houses down from each other as women. They talked about the barrio and how it’s changed and stayed the same over the last 90-or-so years and all the marriages, children and grandchildren they’ve seen. When I asked Ramona how she felt about her big sister she told me in Spanish, “ella es mi corazón…” which means, “she is my heart…” and immediately made my “corazón” ache for my sister, Sarah, who’s back in Colorado this Christmas. One of Claudia and Ramona’s favorite things to do as sisters is share their faith with one another and pray together…which is something my sister and I love do with each other.
The best part about having a sister, is having a forever friend. Someone who’s got your back any time, any place, and a woman you can always depend on. That’s what Sarah has been to me. She’s always been a shoulder to cry on, a counselor I can go to for advice, a companion to travel with, a girl who can make me crack up at the drop of a hat, and a spiritual sister (blood sister, to be exact) in Christ to grow with and challenge. One of my favorite parts of the World Race so far has been realizing that people are the same everywhere you go. Whether you’re in Costa Rica, Thailand or Uganda…the two universal links are: family and faith. Sisters are beloved everywhere you go and that is something I will always relate to and have common ground with. I saw my sister, Sarah and I, as two elderly women living in a river barrio in Alejuelita, Costa Rica last week…and it was a beautiful sight to behold.
Spending time with Claudia (middle) and her sister, Ramona (right).
my sister, Sarah (left) and I…LOVE YOU, CAT!!!
