To the Oldest Sibling
Being the first born, your parents see you as a beautiful, sweet bundle of joy. Anything is possible and nothing can stand in your way. Almost all your parents time and energy is put into making sure you are smiling in this imperfect world you will grow up in. You have so many opportunities. Whether you got to play t-ball, soccer or tap dance, your parents sought the time to put into making you happy.
It seems all of a sudden that your parents announce that you’re going to be a big sister. Little do you know what that entails or when exactly it will happen. But once your parents bring home the pink blanket and tell you to hold open your arms, you are completely changed. You are no longer the only child and a little upset that this happened so quick after they told you, but you go along with it. Before you know it, you begin to have some older sibling responsibilities and help your mom in any way physically possible, just to see her smile and tell you ‘Good job.’ The tasks you were told to do were not that bad, but you still did not know if you wanted to be this so-called big-sister.
As I got older, my sister did as well, and those responsibilities got more challenging, especially with four more brothers right behind her. I was realizing more and more what being the oldest really meant. It meant tucking in your 6-year-old brother when you wanted to watch the new "Hannah Montana" episode. It meant giving your siblings the last Little Debbie just because you know that your brother had a hard day at school. And, it also means doing the dishes for your sister who needed that nap after school. Yeah, being the oldest is not what I expected; it was so much better. The reward is seeing my siblings doing so well in school and knowing that even if they do not say they love me all the time, they show it when I come home from college.
God gave the oldest siblings the greatest responsibilities: the patience, unconditional love, and the generosity that goes far beyond just giving your brother the last cookie. Your generosity about sharing Jesus and how much love he has for your siblings. For it says in Romans 5 verse 8 that “God demonstrates His love towards us...” and that love has been given to you by God to give your siblings.
So, oldest sibling, you are a blessing to your family. God gave you the responsibilities but he also gave you the support that you need from the people who love you the most to be the best sibling you could be.
