Sibling Love

   "You two be nice to each other. Someday I will be gone, and all you will have is one another." My mom has been saying that to my brother and me for as long as I can remember. The truth is, we both have spouses and children and we probably won't be completely alone when my mom goes to Heaven, but it is a nice sentiment all the same. The love I have for my brother is in a class by itself. I would do anything for him. I respect him. But does he get under my skin a lot? YES!

   When Andy and I were talking about expanding our family, we discussed the pros and cons of having siblings. He is the youngest of four boys, and I am the oldest of two. We loved Wyatt so very much and we often wondered how we could possibly love another child as much. And then there was the question of how Wyatt would feel about us sharing our love. When Scarlett was born, our hearts grew immensely. We were able to love BOTH of our children equally.  But, as we’d feared, Wyatt did not feel the same way. Since Scarlett's birth, we have heard a variety of expressions from him regarding how he feels about his sister: "When is Scarlett going to go back?" "Why does that stinky Scarlett always take my toys?" "I wish I didn't have a sister."

   That is when I realized I have to teach him HOW to love his sibling.

   Looking to the Bible, there aren't many stories revolving around sibling love. You can find the basic idea of what it means to love: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love"( 1 John: 7-8). We can take verses like that and build on—or extend—the love that one has for God to a sibling. Sometimes it is challenging because teaching siblings to love each other is shadowed by whose turn it is to sit on mommy's lap or watch their T.V. show. Modeling love becomes a must. If I model loving mysibling by showing him respect, loving him unconditionally, helping him when he needs it, then hopefully my children will imitate that behavior and learn to love one another.

   And as children grow into adults, and possibly more siblings are added to the mix, we as parents must look to God to teach our children how to extend the love we have for Him to others-including siblings. Our day-to-day routine can encompass reading God's Word to our children and modeling what love looks like in all that we do-because, after all, "We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

This post is written by Michelle Wiest 

I'm Michelle Wiest, mother to Wyatt and Scarlett. I have always wanted to be a mother and am so blessed that my desire to be not only a mom, but a stay at home mom, was able to come true. I am a former Middle School Language Arts teacher so I have always taught others to write but never

 really tried myself. I'm so elated to have the chance to combine my love for God's

 word with my love for writing.