STAY, in the Breath

Brothers. Sisters. Siblings. Relationships

It’s gotten to be a sticky concept in many of our families. As I watch our own tribe grow, I see all the opportunities brother/sister hood has—to go bad. It’s the little things, the hurts that don’t get reconciled, or even noticed. It’s the challenge of knowing the worst parts of someone, or even worse than that—being known. It takes brave souls to live in that tension. To talk. To listen. To forgive. To start again.

The resilience I witness in children amazes me. They get wacked over the head and then run off together to catch more tadpoles. One gets angry and leaves a game, and the other is ready to begin again when called. I see their limits too though. Not the limits of when they throw in the towel, no, that comes years later.

I see that tenderest of organs pumping in the middle of their chest. It gets wounded, torn a little. I see that pain written across their faces telling the story inside. It hurts. And I wonder about my role in it.

How long and how much each heart can take seems to be a mystery. And if we’re honest we’ve all been the witness to someone’s or even our own “enough”. We may or may not have known how to handle it. Or we may or may not have known where to find the bravery to step up to the plate, to even show up. To speak. To listen. To forgive. To begin again.

This may be one of the most intimidating wildernesses to enter into.

I’ve got six kids but I don’t consider myself a “seasoned mom”. I feel absolutely in the thick of it. Watching my kids try to navigate through the treacherous jungle of sibling relationships has often left me feeling helpless. On one hand, seeing their open heartedness that allows for tremendous amounts of forgiveness, on the other seeing their open heartedness that allows for worlds of deep and often hidden pain.

Exploring an idea I have about all this in my next post…

I hope you’ll join me, thanks for reading!

Raynna

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