Soul Sisters

This will probably always be one of my most favorite pictures.  It's of our youngest daughter, Tatum, and her BEST friend, Avery.  This post is dedicated to them - the soul sisters who continue to remind me that we CAN all get along...that we are better together!

These girls have the luxury of living in the same development.
I often think they spend more time together than apart...and when they have to part, it's an emotional process.  (Just keeping it real!)

I love how they love each other.
Now, don't get me wrong, like any 2nd graders, they don't always get along, but give them 5 minutes and they're best friends again!
They have each others back...and don't mind telling you.

Bike rides to Barbies.
Playing "school," fashion shows, rocking it out on the karaoke machine (not to forget the dance moves).
Arts and crafts, baking.
Trips to the bookstore, Dunkin Donuts, or even Poppa and Nana's.
Sleepovers.
It really doesn't matter what these girls are doing, they just enjoy being together.

Many times, I just plan on Avery being here or going with us wherever we're going - she really is a part of our family...and I know her mom feels the same about Tatum.
Do you know how good that feels as a mom?  

I remember the first time Tatum actually noticed that their skin color really wasn't the same.  She said, "You know, Mom...hers is just a little more brown than mine."  And I remember one time washing Tatum's hair and Avery was so into the process and said, "Tatum, I like your hair - it's different than mine, you do different things with it, but I like your hair."  I remember when they were first learning about Martin Luther King, Jr and his dream for everyone to get along and they would tell me, "You know, like how we are best friends and we're not the same color!"

You know there's a bible verse about that, 1 Samuel 16:7 ... "man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart." 

Kids get it!!!  
It's natural for them to love another simply because.
I love that!
My prayer for them is that they always see each other's heart.
I pray they remain friends forever.

I tell Tatum all the time that they are going to be world changers!  That she and Avery are going to prove that "white girls" and "brown girls" being friends is the norm...that skin color isn't what defines them.  That Jesus has made them both the same on the inside and that we are ALL capable of LOVE! That we are better together!

It's time we start having the mindset of children and loving others simply because.

Now, I'm not so naive that I think this will be easy.  Loving people who aren't like us doesn't always come so natural like it does to children.  I watched an amazing movie this weekend, Woodlawn.  (If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it!)  I really liked this quote it shared - "If you only love people who love you back...what kind of love is that?" Jesus didn't call us to judge, He simply called us to love. He asks us to look at people and see them as He sees them - a child of His.  
White.
Black.
Asian.
Hispanic.
Handicapped.
Short.
Tall.
Fat. 
Thin.
Rich.
Poor.
Addict.
Gang member.
Doctor.
Lawyer.
Trashman.
Single parent.

Take a lesson from the soul sisters!
Take time today and really look at people.
Look past the outward appearance and look at their heart!
That's what Tatum and Avery do...and that's what Jesus wants us to do!

If you play only the white notes on a piano you get only sharps; if only the black keys you get flats; but if you play the two together you get harmony and beautiful music.  

- James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey

And because they are just too cute not to share...just "some" of the photos I have of these girls from the past few years: