A Good Sister

I can still remember the fights that I had with my oldest sister when the two of us were growing up. To win every fight she had with me she would sit on top of me until I conceded and told her that she was right and I was wrong. These fights occurred often and I never once got close to beating her. Even when I finally got bigger than her, my sister always had a way of defeating me physically or of just pointing out flaws in my arguments. 

I have always kind of secretly admired my sister. She always seemed to be able to do everything right. She was smart, beautiful, and fast. Her achievements include being student body president, leading her cross country team to a Region Championship, being a Sterling Scholar, and receiving full ride scholarships at every university she applied at. She was just good at everything she did. 

I remember trying to emulate her success during my high school years. But my attempts at winning a Region Championship, being a Sterling Scholar, and running for Student Government just did not end as well. I can remember thinking why had I not been able to do the things my sister had done? I thought I was just as talented. But somehow I just couldn't do the things that she had done. 

Even as she continued to grow my sister still saw success in everything she did. When she got married in college, she still found time to finish her degree in English, have a full time job, student teach, and then give birth to her first child. There was nothing to stop this girl. Then afterwards she has continued her success and is currently raising two wonderful children in a nice home in Colorado with her awesome husband. 

My goal has always been to be like my sister and to this day I still want to try to do a lot of the things she has done. But like I said before I have not had too much success trying to do the things she did. My high school years were a struggle for me and were not filled with great achievements. For the longest time I could not figure out why. But as I have talked to my sister and paid more attention to her life I have come to see what the difference truly is. The difference is that she puts Christ first in her life. 

My sister has plenty of talents and abilities, but the thing that has made her so good at everything she tries to do is that she loves Jesus. In high school she always went to seminary and was even on seminary council. Then when she went off to college she made sure that she still read her scriptures and went to church even without anyone telling her that she needed to do those things. Even now that she is married she makes sure to teach her young children about Christ. My sister makes sure that those kids know who is most important in their lives. Because of all this time my sister has spent trying to put God first she has received blessings in her life. 

Now I'm trying to change my life and make it more like my sister's. Because she found the secret to success in life. She knows to "seek ...first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all other things will be added unto you." (3 Nephi 13:33). This principle that my sister tries so hard to live truly does bring blessings. I have seen those blessings start to come into my life as I've tried to put Christ first by keeping His commandments. I now know from personal experience that these blessings are not just for me, but for everybody. So let us all put Christ first.

My Sister and her happy family.