This past week, I read an interesting post about surrounding yourself with people you treasure and who treasure you. It was written about women, but I’m sure girls, boys, men, and women would benefit by being with people who appreciate them for who they are and make them better people. It started me thinking about the sisterhoods I’ve belonged to.
A sisterhood forms between friends who have common interests, religious beliefs, or trades. Sisterhoods build you up and make you a better, more talented person. Using that definition, a woman can have several sisterhoods. I know I do.
I have a sisterhood of writers that I’ve met at different functions, conferences, and meetings. They’re an amazing bunch of women who write about vastly different things in vastly different voices. The craft of writing brings us together because we have common problems. By engaging with each other, we find common solutions that benefit us all. We support each other with advice, encouragement, reading each others’ books, book reviews, and all things writerly.
My sisterhood of childhood friends is the oldest, and we probably know the most about each other, even the secrets from our teenaged years. We share a long history, have seen the same events, and have experienced all life offered up to the point of where we are. We’ve watched our children grow up, and now most of us are grandmas. Our bodies are revolting against us so we share some of the same ailments, aches, and pains. No one understands those as much as old friends.
The sisterhood of Christian women I know is a source of immense comfort and inspiration for me. Some are childhood friends, some are not. We read our Bibles and feel easy studying together. We sometimes have common temptations that we help each other with, and we all have known and believe in the power of prayer. There are few people I feel so completely at home with as my Christian sisters.
When I moved to Boise, I had no idea I’d find a new sisterhood of friends. Our group of four writers plus a realty specialist grew so close that we essentially formed a gang. We backed each other up, consoled each other when work got to be too much, and provided lots of advice and help when needed. Those ties lasted into retirement because we all sew, quilt and other handcrafts, and well, we’re still a gang. We’re there for each other if needed. We’ve pretty much perfected social distancing for luncheons. I got to host one such luncheon on my patio. What a fun time it was! I can’t wait for the day when I can give them all a big hug again.
I’ve been a part of quilting sisterhoods, amazing neighbors sisterhoods, literacy sisterhoods, and gripe-about-the-boss sisterhoods. Women can give each other so much support when they each care about the others.
As a cautionary note, one must be mindful of what kind of sisterhood one joins. Groups looking for trouble or breaking the law is not the kind of sisterhood I’m talking about. Do not be deceived; Evil company corrupts good habits. I Corinthians 15:33 (NKJV)
I urge you to find a supportive sisterhood. Find several. If you’re in a sisterhood, don’t be afraid to take in more like-minded women. There’s strength in numbers.
For more on sisterhood, see my blog from July 2017.
Thank you for being a writer I consider a sister. I appreciated this post.