Sisters before Misters is a Lie

Sisters before misters is a lie… for the most part. Women usually tell their girlfriends “Sisters before misters” to say that no matter what guy comes into our lives t,hey will not take away the friendship and sisterhood we have built together. Unfortunately that is not always true. I have heard, and experienced, too many times when sisterhood is forgotten at the prospect of finding the one God has intended for us. In all honesty, it’s natural. Men and women were made to complete each other, so when that possibility becomes available both men and women jump at the opportunity and engross themselves into this new realm of love. It is beautiful and natural to know someone so completely who was made differently from you. It is the beauty of men and women; it must be good if Saint JPII wrote a whole encyclical on it!

I promise I’m not overly cynical on this topic. It is true that we’ve all heard stories of losing friends and other loved ones to that of a romantic relationship, maybe that’s been us too. Sisters before misters is an ideal, and all I have to say to that is to strive for the ideal. Once again St. John Paul II challenges us to strive the ideal, I couldn’t make that up on my own! In the quest to find someone to journey through life with us, we must also remember the gift of sisterhood and brotherhood. How much sweeter is a romantic relationship when sisters are encouraging and challenging each other to be greater than they ever thought possible. To not seek validation in a relationship, but be guided to the truth with your fellow sisters who seek the same thing. The same is included for brothers to drive each other to something more, to a higher degree of virtue. The most attractive qualities to me are holiness and confidence. The knowledge of one’s self to give one’s self fully to another. It is love of self and other to the greatest harmony.

God puts people in our lives to challenge us and we must sacrifice to obtain this. There is a reason “Sisters before misters” is the ideal and not the norm. Relationships are tempting and consuming and they are meant to be. If you are called to marriage you are called to be united to your spouse forever. Ladies, your husband will not understand all the intimate desires of your hearts. Same for you gentlemen, your wife cannot possibly know everything about you and understand it the way you do. We are men and women; we are equal but different. The only one who can truly understand every part of us is God, but he also gave us our brothers and sisters to have the same frame of reference. I can talk to my sisters about some things that my brothers just don’t get. They are so confused and it’s more frustrating for me to try and explain it rather than be with my sister. Men can understand men faster because they are men; the same is true with women. God has given us the opposite sex to understand the world from a different perspective, but He’s also given us those same sex friendships to support each other.

Don’t lose those friends; strive for the ideal. We may be surprised that marriage, friendships, and our lives are much richer from this balance. We know more of ourselves, our weaknesses, strengths, and the fact that it all depends on God. Don’t lose them because until vows are said, they are not one with you. Even after sometimes a girl just needs her girlfriends, and I don’t want to see anyone who turns around and realizes that she pushed them all away. Keep striving, and maybe the ideal will become the norm.