Fellowship and family...

Green pastures, swimming and a lawn chair on the perch…welcome to the family homestead.  Heidi’s caption for this photo said “Twins?!?  Boy do you remember this all through our childhood?”  Our (once again) matching outfits was her focus yet as I flipped through the album I noticed something more important…we were growing up. 

Is that smile amazing or what?  She was always smiling and me…I have that mischevious grin on my face, which is also common.  I’m not sure of the holiday yet the dresses lead me to think possibly an easter but then there isn’t any snow in the background, lol.  Regardless…I want you to look beyond our outfits and enjoy the beauty enveloping us.

This is my Grandma Mary’s back porch (or is it the front…hmmm – this would be a side bar conversation.  I want to call it the back door because it was on the back of the house but it seems someone used to tell me it was the front door because it was the threshold used to enter and exit the house on a daily basis.  I don’t remember so I’m sticking with “back door”.)  The lawn chair to the right of us was always there yet I don’t have a lot of memories of anyone actually sitting in the chair.  Gram said it was there in case someone stopped and needed a rest.

Directly behind us is the pool.  Oh my goodness…we had so much fun in that pool.  We learned to swim and dive, to float and most importantly how to be safe and have fun.  The most vivid memory of the pool is the day the pool broke.  A couple of my neighborhood friends joined Heidi and I for a swim.  A favorite thing to do was race from one side to the other, kicking off from the side for more force and speed.  Now if you look closely at the pool you will notice it isn’t an inground pool or of heavy duty cement walls which would be why my aunt always said (or was it yelled? LOL) “Girls, DON’T kick off the side of the pool or it will collapse!” Yeah right, she is too nervous…guess what? 

You have probably predicted what happens next.  Aunt Nancy goes inside and all the children in the pool line up stratgically along one side of the round pool.  We wait until the water is perfectly calm and everyone is in position…10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…GO!!! Down and back…we have a winner.  I don’t remember who it was but we decided, “Let’s race again!”  We swim to the opposite side of the pool for something different, then 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go!! POP!! WHOOSH!!!!

SMASH!!  As the force of twelve feet kicked of the side of the pool the side game out and collapsed.  The water rushed under the deck wiping out the filter, pump and pool parafanalia with a small bust turning into an erupting dam.  It start as a race of agility and speed but it turned into a race for our safety and life.  Giggles and laughter turning to screams and shrills brought Aunt Nancy racing out and then one isolate scream “Lisa…help me!”  It was Heidi…her tiny frame was being sucked towards the hole and she couldn’t keep from being sucked in.  I did the only thing I knew…I went to her and grabbed her arms and upper body while my friends grabbed my feet.  I didn’t think, I simply went.  Heidi was in trouble and needed help…I had to save her.  It is my job…I’m the big sister.

God allowed me to save Heidi on that warm summer day from being hurt or drowning.  He knew she had more to accomplish in her life.  She may have been a small framed little girl but she grew into a strong, confident force to be reckoned with.  She had a passion and joy for life and hers was just starting.  I couldn’t save her from kidnapping but I can use God’s gifting on my life to keep her memory alive and help others. 

Instead of shrills of fear as the water attempts to drown us…we need to grab a hold of the One person who can save us from whatever drowning we are facing ~ Jesus Christ.

Lisa :)