Soul Sister Consolation

 I thought of this picture when I was deciding which photos to put up for a more Fall inspired look. It brought me back to that time, and actually this photo wasn't even taken in Fall, it was mid or late summer I believe. But knowing me, I'm sure I was ready for Fall. 

We were visiting a potential location for my sister's future wedding reception at The Shinn House, and we went to Mass at the Mission, where she was also planning on having her wedding Mass. It was a unique and fun time, and the 3 of us sisters enjoyed a nice coffee treat at the local Starbucks just chatting away. I remember we also talked about our love and journeys within education and teaching jobs. 

This photo came to mind recently, as I was thinking. It had been an interesting and somewhat challenging week (more on that later). My sister wrote up a blog post about her experience when she was in her 20's and going through a really hard and suffering time at her special education job way out in Palo Alto, and just navigating life as a 20 something year old and meeting and dating guys who were a big disappointment. Her writing was fluid, vivid, authentic and eloquent. How much I could/can relate to all that she was detailing in her experience. 

Better yet, how much I realized what we had in common! Both working at special ed jobs, passionate about languages, trying to fill the open time with inspiring things like the Opus Dei websites and taking the content from it and either copy and paste into our email or like me- writing it down to type up later, and studying foreign language, frustrated with guys and the dating scene, both had an older sister right above them who was newly married and pregnant. 

How much consolation I received after reading her post, it nearly put me to tears. I was already feeling down about myself and somehow, I felt a lack of confidence and reassurance about my path, self-doubt, but then I realized how God has richly blessed me with a sister who is beyond a friend, but rather a soul sister. The tears then came to my eyes and my dry, somewhat itching eyes didn't feel so dry. And the next day, I could move on and think of her story as a witness for my own.