My sister Katie was just herself-no false pretenses or anything. Our relationship all started on March 12, 1994, the day I was born. From then on, we formed a bond. But to be honest, during my sister’s depression, our relationship was severed. We didn’t really have anything in common, me being in third grade and she being a sophomore in high school at the time. But we still managed to stay close.
After God delivered her, the bond between us strengthened, and after that deliverance, we were closer than ever. From shopping at thrift stores and going on a “date” to Katie stuffing her mouth with marshmallows, acting like a gorilla, and chasing me and one of my friends, she was always there for me. And though we had fun, and I loved it, some of the greatest times we spent together were the serious times. The greatest thing about my big sister was that she was willing to listen and she helped me understand God better. I remember one time I was having trouble sleeping (she being the only one awake), and I went upstairs, asked her to go in my bed with me, and she dropped what she was doing, and talked to me in my room. Our conversation was about God, and even now, I carry what she shared with me in times like that. In another instance, after she wrote “Remembering the Persecuted”, she set me down in a chair and wanted to play the song for me. I was touched as she interpreted the song, pretty much line by line, for me to understand. Even our last conversation together before she went to be with the Lord was about grace, something that I didn’t understand at the time. Her life touched mine, and because of her I will never be the same.
When the accident happened, I had a feeling of shock and disbelief. “How could this happen?” I would ask myself. And honestly, I still do ask that question occasionally, but God is revealing more and more why He took her. He wanted her, and she wanted Him. And although it seems like she didn’t have much time here on this earth, God’s timing is not our timing. She lived her life to the fullest and seized the time God gave her. And even though I miss her and wish that she could be there for some of the major events in my life, I know that it’s okay. If 3,000 souls for Christ and lives touched could all be reversed just so that I could have my sister back, I would not let it happen. People are being blessed by Katie’s life so much, and I know for sure that this is the purpose for her life. She didn’t plan for the next twenty or thirty years; she planned for eternity. Isn’t that what we all need to be doing?
