By Leslee Madsen 
I was nine years old, lying in a sleeping bag on Grandma’s basement floor when the phone rang. Grandma fumbled in the dark to answer it.
“Hello?” she said. “Leslee, it’s for you.” I scrambled out of bed and took the receiver from her.
“Leslee?” it was Mom. “It’s a girl! You finally have a little sister!”
Some people might think sisters who are nine years apart wouldn’t be close in life, but as Betty and Judy Haynes sing in White Christmas, “Sisters, sisters there were never such devoted sisters.”
I don’t believe in coincidences, only perfectly timed blessings from God. My little sister came just in time. God knew I needed her back then, and I especially need her right now.
Growing up, I loved being the doting big sister. I loved curling her hair, dressing her up, and painting our nails. As she got older I enjoyed watching her follow in my footsteps as she made the dance team and became an English major. She was the maid of honor at my wedding and became the best aunt to my kids.
As adults, our age gap seems to have closed completely. It is very common for strangers to ask us if we are twins and extremely common for our own family and friends to mix us up. When we are together, you can find us indulging in our favorite pastimes: chatting, watching chick flicks, and eating chocolate.
Perhaps the hardest thing about being an older sister is watching your younger sister experience hardships. It wasn’t fair that we had to cancel her bridal shower and nobody could attend her wedding because of a global pandemic. It was heartbreaking a few years later for her to suffer not one, but two miscarriages. Things became even harder when her husband got accepted into a graduate school, and they moved hundreds of miles away.
However, God’s blessings were on their way. My sister got pregnant with a daughter, and she was able to fly home so we could throw her an epic baby shower. I couldn’t wait for her to become a mom. I couldn’t wait to meet my sister’s daughter. When she finally arrived, I flew to their house to meet her. My niece was perfection wrapped in a pink blanket. Watching my sister all her life, nothing compared to watching her become a mother.
A year later my sister found out she was pregnant with another baby girl–a little sister. I was thrilled for her, but she was a little nervous. How would two sisters so close in age get along?
Hey Sis, don’t worry, they need each other . . . because God’s timing is perfect.
by Vicki Bahr 
by Jennifer Toscano 
by Brea Schmidt 
