In which I am thankful for my sister-in-law

Those who know me know that I’m a touch opinionated opinionated to the point of being obnoxious.

I am generally willing to share many of my opinions here at bekahcubed, since readership is voluntary – but I try to be more circumspect about sharing my opinions in more personal (and therefore inescapable) communication.

I especially try to keep my mouth shut when it comes to how my siblings are raising their families. It’s not my business to inject my opinions into their families. It’s my business to love them and support them in any way I can.

Which is why I consider myself so incredibly blessed to have a sister-in-law who invites my opinions – and even tells me she likes that I have an opinion (and some reasoning behind it) on every conceivable issue.

After I started posting my thoughts on Frank Furedi’s Paranoid Parenting, Debbie sent me a message to let me know that she’d been enjoying my comments – and to ask me if I’d be interested in reading and discussing some parenting books together. We’ve been having a great time reading and discussing Grace-Based Parenting – but Debbie hasn’t limited her invitations of input to that book.

She asked me to read Addie Zierman’s When We Were on Fire because she wanted to hear my thoughts on that (and our shared youth group experiences). She asks me for my thoughts on vaccination schedules. And, yes, she tells me that she likes soliciting my opinion on things because she knows I always have an opinion – and some sort of rationale for why I hold the opinion I do.

As someone who frequently feels like she has to be biting her tongue to keep from being annoying, I can tell you that my sister-in-law has blessed me greatly by inviting me to give my opinions.

I try to bless her in response by giving my opinions in a fair and reasonable way – and by respecting when her opinions and mine differ (because they certainly do in some areas – we are very different people and will undoubtedly raise our children in very different ways.)

But mostly, I am thankful for my sister-in-law – and for her willingness to invite me to share my thoughts and opinions with her. It does this opinionated girl’s heart good to have someone who cares who asks.