ILYNMW Pt 2 (and an Unofficial Introduction)

(Before-arm pic)
Two questions:
1. Did you know I have a sister? I do! Her name is Patience, she's my favorite, we practically share a brain, and we have the most fun. Fun fact: we look nothing alike, but our voices are so nearly identical that our mother can't tell us apart over the phone– and even I was thrown for a loop one day when my kids got hold of my phone, sneaked off to another room, and called Patience via FaceTime. I heard her voice and assumed my kids were watching a video of me, until that voice started asking for me. So surreal.
2. Did you know that God is interested in what you're interested in?Â
So much of the time we can feel like "This thing is inconsequential– definitely not important or holy enough to bother God with!" or "No, I can't ask God to give me that frivolous thing, that would be selfish." or "Nope, this thing is my responsibility, it wouldn't be fair to ask for help with it."
We tell ourselves some pretty strange things about God sometimes.Â
The truth is, not only does He care for us more than anyone else possibly can, He actually cares about what we care about. We're telling ourselves lies when we tell ourselves otherwise.
Enough of that now, here's a story:Â
In the fall of 2016 I had begun seriously considering getting a tattoo, because of this girl. This in itself seemed like a bizarre act of God– I had never been at all interested in having a tattoo up until that point.
I shared what was on my mind with Patience, who was living in Prague at the time. Here is the gist of our conversation:
Me: "I think I want to get a tattoo."
Her: "Omg, you too?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Her: "I've been playing with the idea."
Me: "Gasp! Should we get them together when you come home for Christmas?"
Her: "Yes!"
All the tattoo shops in our hometown: "We don't have any openings till January, sorryyyyy!"
Gah.Â
Hmmm. Would it be possible to get our tattoos together, separately? I mean, we've got all this technology, how hard could it be to schedule coordinating appointments on two different continents with a seven hour time difference and FaceTime each other while getting inked? Psh. Cake.
I was able to nail down an appointment for the first Tuesday in January at noon. Yay!Â
Things were a little more touch and go for Patience, however. She liked that artist. Was their shop open that day? Did that artist work that day? Would they have an opening for her? Would they be fine with her FaceTiming me during her appointment? Would there even be wifi???Â
We were on tenterhooks for a several weeks while she tried to get these questions answered (in Czech, hoo boy!). There was a little bit of tension, maybe a smidge of anxiety... but before you get too nervous I'll tell you that everything worked out slicker than... never mind. It worked out beautifully, and for a glorious 20 minutes, Minnesota and Czechia were directly connected via two sisters in tattoo parlors; Patience getting a permanent souvenir of her favorite sight in Prague: St. Vitus Cathedral, and me getting a permanent reminder of how I want to always see my children, and how I am always seen by my Father.
This sister of mine has been stateside the past few years, but God's been persisting in showing an interest in her interests, so on Monday she'll be jetting off to Finland.Â
St. Vitus will still be on her arm, and I will still love her no matter what... but geez louise, I'm going to miss her.
Art for both tattoos by Patience.

After forearm pic

First tattiversary: on the same continent,Â
in the same time zone, at the same table, even.

Here's a picture of our faces, from myÂ
trip to visit her in Prague.
Patience is the redhead on the left.