Come Into The Ark

As they watched the floods rise around them, Noah & his family must have found such refuge in the ark they’d built. They were safe. With each other.

The other day my daughter “accidentally” (it’s questionable) sprayed her little sister with silly string. They got in a fight that ended with one yelling, "I hate you! I wish you weren’t my sister!"

😬

The Sprayer Of The Silly String found me & my husband & told us what happened. She buried her face in me & sobbed, “I wish I were a better sister!”

My husband then told her a story.

When he was a teenager, he & his big brother Bry got in a pretty bad fight. He doesn’t even remember why, but he’d never been so mad at his brother! He went to his room all riled up!

Then something unexpected happened.

The anger left. He felt a rush of love & gratitude for his brother. He wrote him a heartfelt letter of apology & left it in his car to find in the morning. 

They made up.

They were both… changed.

They never fought again.

They were best friends until the day Bry passed away from cancer in 2017.

After his death, my husband found that letter among his brother’s things- he’d kept it all that time😭

A few minutes after telling his story, the Silly String Victim, my 9-year-old, came downstairs. She hadn’t heard the story. So it was a surprise when she handed her sister a letter, tears on her cheeks.

“Dear [Sister],

I'm very very sorry for what I said, I shouldn’t have said that stuff to you! After you left the room I went in my bed & was angry at you & wanted to stay in my bed, but then I remembered the talks at church about forgiveness & then I saw my Bry bear & started crying because of what I said to you & how Jesus & Bry would want me to choose the right. So I want you to know that I love you so much & that I wouldn't want any other sister! 

Love, [Sister]”

Thanks, Bry❤️😇

PRETTY sure there will be more fights. But I hope my kids know: You can make things right. You can build from the broken. Create peace. Save relationships.

What’s worth building? What’s worth saving?

“Come into the ark” (Gen 6:18)

It is a 2-way street. But we can do our part.

Christ did His.

“Come unto me & be ye saved” (3 Ne 12:20)