I was born into a family with only one older brother. He was my only sibling, and I used to wish I had a sister. I even used to beg my parents to have one for me, but they didn't see the need for that quite as seriously as I did, so they didn't accommodate me in that. I will never have a sister by birth, but God did bless me with a sister by heart.
Shannon is five years younger than me, and she came to live with us back in 1995. She had just moved to the Dallas area, and needed a place to stay for "a few nights" while she looked for an apartment. We didn't know her that well, but she worshiped where we did, and so we asked her to stay with us. We felt comfortable with her in our home from the start, and she must have liked it ok, too - the "few nights" turned into almost six months. (It would've been longer, but we moved out of state, causing lots of jokes about the lengths we had to go to in order to get her to leave!)
Shannon very quickly endeared herself to our children - the girls were four years old, and Caleb was two when she came to live with us. They LOVED "Miss Shannon," and it was a BIG event everyday when she would arrive home from work. She would babysit, and play, and she soon became their favorite person. Caleb called her "My Shan," and said he was going to marry her. Not only did the kids form a lasting, loving relationship with her, but so did I. As we talked and got to know each other, it was one of those instantly easy friendships. I found so much we had in common. From little things like both being left-handed, both having one brother, and both LOVING mint chocolate chip ice cream, to the bigger things like the views we shared about spiritual things, the similarities in our personalities, and the core beliefs we had about life. It was a sad day when Miss Shannon moved out - sad for the kids, but also sad for me.
I could write a book about all of the experiences we've had with Shannon since that time in 1995 - she's literally been there through it all, even traveling to Arkansas to help care for my family when we lived there and I had surgery. Suffice it to say, she continues to be adored by the Stewart family. The kids just call her "Shannon" now, but they love her like no other. She has made an effort to be very involved with their lives, even though we haven't lived in the same town in 16 years. She has truly been an "aunt" to them in every sense of the word. Every mother knows how much it means when someone sincerely and deeply loves your children, and makes the effort to really KNOW them individually - Shannon's relationship with my children is like that, and has always warmed my heart. But more than that, besides Jeff, Shannon has become my closest friend - the sister I never had, my closest confidant, and my top female sounding board. She knows me, encourages me, and usually responds to me intuitively. Shannon has taught me more than I can ever list here about selflessly serving others, trust, and giving, among other things. From her I've learned that "family" isn't always just the people with whom you share DNA, but the closest relationships in life can be with those we choose as our family. When I read the biblical account of David and Jonathan, and how "the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and he loved him as his own soul," I always think of Shannon. I thank God that she needed a place to stay for a few nights back in 1995. I used to wish I had a sister - I don't wish for that anymore. So how do people make it through life without a sister? Thanks to Shannon, I'll never have to know.
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