The World Needs Clones of Rebecca Ellen Jones

Yesterday was the last day of classes before Thanksgiving break, and like any day before break, I almost felt like every element of my day was telling me to simply skip my classes in order to soak in the surrounding joy and excitement of a looming holiday. Normally I do succumb to these pleasant little "whispers" and take the time to spend that extra hour or so with a friend or even just with myself. Amid it all, I am spending some legitimate time with God. See, it's days like yesterday that bring me perspective. Life looks better. Pursuits look purposeful. God seems bigger. Friends seem closer. Love is inevitable, and home is the perfect destination. Though not before I decided NOT to skip that Hebrew Bible class only to find out we had a paper due that I was *somehow* totally unaware of. Whoops. (It turned out alright. I rushed back to my apartment and churned out a decent paper in 30 minutes, turning it in right at the end of class. Probably not the best in show, but hey, it exists.) I did, however, wind up skipping my 3:30 class to take my friend Katie Titus to the train station, as she was en route home to Long Island at 3:20 or thereabouts. We had a lovely chat before her departure, and one question she asked in particular still stands out to me: "What are you looking forward to most about going home?" It didn't take me more than 2 seconds to say, "Rebecca." That is, Rebecca Jones my beloved 16-months-older sister. And I'm not gonna lie, my expectation to absolutely love being with her has yet to let me down. Even just sitting next to her right now as I am blogging and she's watching NCIS, I can't think of anything much more comforting to me than her mere presence. She's always been the calm to my crazy and added the punchlines to my jokes. Her essence complements mine so beautifully. Perhaps you're thinking: Well, yeah, you're sisters. But I don't think such a phenomenon can be reasoned so simplistically. This is the work of God. This is God knowing how much I have needed her in my life from the moment I was born. I spent the greater part of my childhood taking advantage of (I was good at taking advantage of stuff) her generosity and her love. It was probably during my latter formative years when I finally recognized how necessary it was to not only reap the benefits of these beautiful qualities of hers but to also let them penetrate my very being. I can with all honesty say that any amount of kindness one might attribute to my personality is only present because of how much I emulated it in my sister and wanted to follow her lead. My big sister, and my inevitable role model. No, she does not fit a stereotypical role model mold. She's never been in the cool crowd, and she doesn't stand out in a crowd. But she's the coolest person I know, and I would seek her first out of any crowd. I know I still take advantage of her sometimes, but I earnestly pray that my perspective can stay true, that my hugs will envelope her in the knowledge that I love her for all that she's ever been for me. My sister. My role model. My best friend. My listening ear. My encouragement. My calm. Thanks be to God for such an incredible gift that I received before my own conception. He really is so Good like that.