Too Blessed to Be StressedSample

"Crash Dummies"

Read 1 Peter 4:8

Siblings are the reluctant instructors in our life classrooms. They’re our crash dummies, our failed experiments; the unfortunate people we practice on to learn how not to treat others. “A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city” (Proverbs 18:19).

They unwittingly teach us civility by suffering the consequences of our mistakes as we forge the virtues of kindness, fairness, and helping one another. “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won” (Genesis 30:8). They’re our first and last teammates; the ones we’re forced to depend on. The ones who bring us secret joy when they actually come through.

Of course, we’re their crash dummies too.

Yet despite trampled feelings, bruises, and occasional concussions, what would we do without them? They’re as much as part of our DNA as our crooked noses. We love them, admire them, and are irritated senseless by them all at the same time.

We share memories no one else in the world fathoms; they understand where we’re coming from even better than our spouses. Siblings are passengers in our lifeboat, and it would be suicidal to try to blow them out of the water.

So we might as well accept them as heaven-sent companions for this voyage of life and try to paddle in sync. “Keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble (Proverbs 21:23).

In the movie In Her Shoes, Rose Feller (played by Toni Collette) voiced every sister’s sentiments when she was trying to explain the unexplainable bond she shared with her incorrigible sister, Maggie (Cameron Diaz): “Without her … I don’t make sense.”

No, without our siblings, we just don’t make sense.

And strangely enough – despite the lumps, bumps, and hard knocks – we don’t want to go it alone. “Love wisdom like a sister” (Proverbs 7:4).

Additional Elements:
BFF (Blessed Friends Forever) prayer: Prince of Peace, motivate me to tell my crash dummies (siblings) that I love them despite the scars. Before it’s too late. Amen.

Digging Deeper: Read Proverbs 15:1