I have three siblings. John, Stephanie, and Lacy. Clearly Stephanie is my twin. John and Lacy are my half-siblings, but there's nothing half about them. I rarely introduce them as my half-siblings. But for the sake of this blog post I thought I would mention it so we can all be on the same page. Siblings are fun. I firmly believe that God places each of us in our families for a reason. He carefully picked out my family in the way that He did, for something bigger. I am only now beginning to find out what that purpose is. First, from this point on I will refer to John as Bubba. Never have I ever called my brother "John". He has the replaced name of Bubba. At one time, we all lived in the same house. However, Stephanie and I were really young. I cannot recall any distinct memories of this time period, only what I see on the home videos. Stephanie and I shared a room, and Lacy and Bubba shared a room for a period of time before Lacy moved with her mom. This was all knowledge that was TOLD to me, because like I said, I was little. The most distinct memories that I have are the ones when they would each come over to visit at a later time. Like when Lacy would walk in and go straight to the fridge to see if we had fudgesicles or milk. (Either one would do). Or when all of us would meet out at Garfields at the mall to eat dinner together.
Bubba...
My brother is an absolute hot mess. I can remember several instances in my life where he would be sitting in the living room with Stephanie, my mom, our dad, and I and he would just have all of us cracking up. All three of them, Stephanie, Lacy, and Bubba, all have this crazy humor that I somehow got left out on. But it definitely keeps things alive. Bubba was one who hated school growing up. He had no desire to finish high school, nor to go to college. However, around the age of 28, he began his lifelong learning process by starting to take classes to earn a nursing degree. Now he has one more year until he reaches his Masters in Nursing, or his Nurse Practitioner certification. It's amazing the things that God does in our lives. And bubba is a true testimony of that. God can change your heart and your motives to fit His Will perfectly. Bubba was and clearly always will be the "class clown". However, he knows when to get serious and provide advice as well. All I have to say is "Okay, I need serious brother, not funny brother" and he will switch his attitude quickly. He also is the biggest supporter of "family" that I have ever met. He continues to remind Stephanie and I that as long as we are happy with who we have, nothing else matters. He, by the way, has the most precious family ever created. You can see pictures of his children in an earlier blog post.
Lacy...
I remember when Stephanie and I were still in middle school and high school, Lacy would take us all on our sister shopping days. Dad would give each of us so much money to spend, and we would spend the whole day shopping and eating. It was pretty self-absorbed, but we liked it. Lacy and Stephanie, in my opinion, are the exact same person. It seems as if they both have the same values, and they both definitely have the same humor. It is funny to read 34 comments on one of their statuses with conversations strictly between Lacy and Stephanie (and most likely they no longer had anything to do with the previously updated status). While Stephanie and Lacy are a lot alike, I feel like I look more like Lacy than Stephanie does. We both have this smile-->. It's the same one. Where part of our mouth closes more than the other side, and one of our eyes close more than the other. It's true. I call mine the Elvis dog smile. But that's another story. Lacy, too, was never into the idea of college. However, by the grace of God, she too has entered into the medical field. Lacy is the one to tell me the truth, the realest of them all. She is encouraging, and simply wants to see all of us happy.
Stephanie..
Stephanie is absolutely gorgeous. She was so much fun to grow up with, and I thank the Lord above for the opportunity to be a twin. Though we have our own struggles that other siblings will never be able to relate too, it has been a blast. Stephanie and I talk every day, all day. Sometimes AJ asks me "How can you possibly still have stuff to talk to her about?". But there's always something! Stephanie, too, is absolutely hilarious. She keeps all of our friends laughing. Get all three of them in the same room? Game over. Stephanie graduated with her bachelors the same year that I graduated with mine. She is now lead teller at a bank in town, and just hoping to move up with her accounting degree. She is one of the strongest people I know. For whatever reason, she received a lot of persecution throughout her entire middle school and high school career. I'm not sure what God's plan in that was, but I do know that she become incredibly strong in that. She is currently choosing to stay with someone that most of us love, and some don't. But she is choosing to stay with him because he makes her happy, and that is what is important. God has blessed me. She is so much fun.
I think the Lord knew what He was doing when he created this little circle of siblings. I thank Him for that. It wasn't until recently when I realized how greatly I need my siblings. Over the past year, due to some trials, they have come together and supported each other and loved on each other and made each other laugh. Each of us have a role in our little family, and I'm thankful for each of their roles because they complete mine. Bubba and Lacy experienced things growing up that Stephanie and I are just now beginning to go through, and it's encouraging to know that they somehow found a way through it, and so can we. Also, it's most encouraging to see each of us stand up for each other. They know what I'm talking about. But each of us are in a different place in life. Bubba has a full family and is finishing up school, Lacy is in another state and living with her fiance, Stephanie is working full time and living with her boyfriend, and I am married and going to school. Each of us are enduring different trials and fighting different battles but none of us are alone while doing it. I praise God for his providence in my life, and thank Him for providing me with the best siblings ever.