Sisters–the Golden Thread in the Tapestry of Life

“A sister is a friend of the heart, a gift to the spirit and a golden thread through the tapestry of life.” –Isadora James

I was blessed with a wonderful older sister. The Lord took her to heaven early a few years ago, after a long chapter with cancer. She was eager to meet her Savior, about whom she often talked. She was thankful that, as she would say, ‘Jesus had already cured her biggest disease–sin,’ and used her last days to point all of her friends and family toward His love and grace.

We were different: Her hair was straight. Mine was curly. She was organized. I am not. She planned ahead. I struggle to think an hour beyond the present. She had a hard time giving up mowing the lawn to her son because she loved creating the straight lines. I was happy as a lark when my husband or sons completed that task.

We also had alot in common: We both loved food (too much), and often lamented over the power that sweets had in our lives. We were both self-starters and took on more projects than a 24-hour day could support. We both liked creating something new, rather than following someone else’s template.

And, we both loved hymns (and certain hymn authors).

Since her home was the central gathering place for our extended family during holidays, I could always count on a hymn-sing. Many years ago, she commissioned me to make quilted word banners for each room in her home, all based on hymns. During one of our last conversations on the phone before she died, we sang the second verse of ‘Like the Golden Sun Ascending’ together–the words that hung in her kitchen:

“Thanks to Thee, O Christ victorious!
Thanks to Thee, O Lord of life!
Death hath now no power o’er us,
Thou hast conquered in the strife.
Thanks because Thou didst arise
And hast opened Paradise!
None can fully sing the glory
Of the resurrection story.”
(Thomas Kingo, 1634-1703)

This greeting card is dedicated to my wonderful, sainted older sister, Becky Lussky, who went home to Jesus on December 16, 2018. She and I loved the hymns of the 17th century hymn writer, Paul Gerhardt. Gerhardt endured the loss of his wife and four of his five children during the difficult chapter called ‘The Thirty Years War.’ And yet, he still found reason, as this card displays, to ‘praise his Creator.’

As did my sister.

Happy humming.

Liz