Sisi is a wonderful friend and the oldest sister of 12 kids! She runs two ministries: Such A Time (where she encourages young women to serve God in their "such a time" instead of waiting for "one day when...") and The Sibling Project where she and her siblings seek to encourage siblings in their relationships through social media, a book she wrote, and a conference they have each year. I am inspired by all Sisi does, and am so glad she was willing to share with you all!
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Being the oldest daughter of twelve kids has been suffocating at times, an incredible honor other days, and some days I just felt taken advantage of - trapped in my parents conviction to have so many children. Instead of taking my frustration to God and walking in victory I was wearing a Self-accepted burden and being a victim. Can you imagine if Daniel had that attitude when he was taken to Babylon? He even had reason to feel trapped - he was a prisoner!! Instead he decided to find God’s purpose and bring God glory in his circumstance, including the lions den. And it was those circumstance that seemed like a trap - a life sentence to slavery - that positioned him to be a powerful ruler and help turn a nation to worship God.
In a similar way, as the oldest daughter in my family (which I promise is no where close to being trapped in slavery - I actually have great privilege and travel quite frequently) I have an incredible impact in the lives of my siblings. Daily, I have the opportunity to encourage my siblings in who God created them to be and to remind them to keep their eyes on God.
Y’all growing up can be hard! Can you imagine how nice it would have been to have had someone in your life for the sole purpose of encouraging you and pointing you back to Jesus as you were getting through high school?!
That’s what I get to do! That’s who we, as oldest siblings, get to be!!
Yes, being an oldest sibling comes with lots of responsibility, but it a place of great impact. So, I’m encouraging you to embrace your place as an oldest sibling not as a trap you did not choose, but as a position of influence that God placed you in to encourage your younger siblings and point them back to Jesus!
Adoption is very special to our hearts. When we were ages 11 and 8 (almost 9), our family adopted for the 1st time. We decided to adopt a little boy with Down Syndrome from Eastern Europe that we fell in love with on Reeces Rainbow. (www.reecesrainbow.com) It opened up a whole new world in front of our eyes. We saw children just laying around in beds all day and kids who just desperately wanted a mommy and a daddy to call their own. It was difficult leaving all those kids when we brought our brother home! A year later, we brought home another brother and a sister, who both have special needs. I can't imagine life without any of them! They are very precious to us and bring us joy every day! Granted, there are behavior issues from being in the orphanage and other difficulties that they face, but they make up for it with their love, beautiful smiles, and hugs ;) My parents didn't think that we would adopt again, but God had other plans! We hosted 2 siblings kind of last minute l
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