Reed Sister Vaycay

I probably should have warned you that I would be blowing up your Insta and Twitter feed this weekend. Some weekends just deserve the obnoxious over-social-media-fying, and the possibility of losing a few followers. 

This was one of them. 

It was also a weekend that doesn't require much words, because the pictures do the talking.

What the pictures don't show is how much I learn from this little 8 year old. 

I am fairly certain that God gave me Milissa to give me a glimpse into the wonderful, challenging world of parenting. And while I know I am soooo far from understanding it all, I also know that I'm thankful for what I've learned through my sister. 

I've learned that you need grace. The moments where you get frustrated, where you say the wrong thing, and what grips the heart the most: when you walk away feeling like you didn't love the way that they deserve to be loved, there is grace. 

I've learned that most of what you teach, you still need work on too. I preach the importance of patience, and before I know it, I'm losing mine. I emphasize that your worth and value come from who God made you to be, and not what you look like. And two seconds later, that self consciousness is creeping up on me because I ate too much and feel gross. The learning never stops. 

I've learned that the most important thing, more important than teaching or having fun or providing, is to love. And love well. The fact of the matter is, we'll never get this loving thing down pat. We're human, we mess up all the time. But that doesn't mean you stop trying. You keep trying, because the love will shine through the mess ups. 

And I hope this does not sound like parenting advice, because I fully understand that having an 8 year old sister does not make me a parent. 

But I also understand the importance of documenting what you learn, and this is what I've learnt from my relationship with my beautiful baby sister, Milissa. 

This was so much more than a Bucket List item checked off.