Through Carol Kent's own stories and and the stories of others, this devotional offers comfort and encouragement especially for women who call themselves sisters, whether related or not. Read this devotional by yourself or with a group to find refreshment for your soul and inspire gratitude in your heart.

Doin' the Pinkie Swing

by Dawn Baker

The bond between sisters is unique, stretching and bending through periods of closeness and distance, but almost never breaking.

Carol Saline, from Sisters

My mother was only twenty-four years old when she died in an automobile accident, leaving three small children. My little brother was six months old, I was a year and a half, and my big sister was almost three. Dona and I are only seventeen months apart, and during our growing-up years we always shared a bedroom.

Many nights we went to bed afraid and lonely, and we were somewhat confused about life. Dona wasn’t sheepish about her nighttime fears; I always tried to hide mine. Our bedroom was small, and we had twin beds that were always next to each other, separated only by the walking distance between them. Frequently, well after we should have been asleep, Dona would whisper to me, “Are you awake?” Often I pretended I hadn’t heard her. If I answered, she would sometimes ask if she could climb into bed with me for awhile. More often she just kept asking in a louder and more intense whisper, “Are you awake?” until I finally answered, or until she did wake me up!

My sister always wanted to talk, but after I became tired, she would settle for a slim amount of physical contact. She would whisper “pinkies” to me, and I knew what that meant. We would reach across the narrow space between our beds, both lying on our tummies, hook our pinkie fingers together, and swing them to comfort each other. The touch of a sister’s hand consoled both of us. Finally we would fall asleep peacefully.

I never realized how much our “pinkie swing” meant to me until she went away to college a year and a half ahead of me. Suddenly I was gripped with fear, finding myself in a bedroom at night all alone for the first time. I started pinning Scripture to my window shade, then pulling it down to eye level and reading it over and over again until sleep overtook me. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isaiah 26:3 KJV). “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). These words brought a calm and peace to my heart.

Dona and I are grown women now, and both of us know that Scripture is the best antidote to fear. As adults, Dona and I occasionally have a chance to hang out together. We still face fearful situations. With a smile, one of us will call out “pinkie swing,” and we instantly know the comfort and courage that comes from a supportive sister. God gave two little girls reassurance through “the nights of life.” And He’s still doing that today.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10 NIV