SISTERS ARE FOREVER FRIENDS I once saw that on a coffee mug and my life experience has proven that to be true. Sisters can be your worst critic and at the same time your biggest fan. They can be angry with you, yet the depth of their love will never wane. Such is the case with my sisters - Betty, Martha, JoAnn, and Susan. I am truly drinking from the saucer because my cup overflows with joy for having these wonderful women in my life. Raised in the mountains of West Virginia, we grew into strong independent women. We began to move through life with a gentle roar. Each sister made her own life, but we were careful to share our lives with each other - the good and the bad.  We learned to laugh at each other and ourselves. So much of who we are came from our parents: strength and commitment from mom, laughter and forgiveness from dad, the value of hard work from both. We have made many mistakes and exercised bad judgment, as a group and as individuals - no matter we love each other. We have never achieved anything that will make people long remember us. The only world we ever conquered was our own. Once our grandchildren leave this world we will be forever forgotten on this side of life. We have given our children something far more valuable than fame or fortune, we have taught them about Jesus and his love, thus ensuring the circle never be broken. We have taught them to move through the face of adversity with dogged determination as our parents taught us. Some have taken heed, others have not. I have considered how strangely comforting it is to look upon a sister and see that another person has the same eyes, nose, hands, or feet. Now I know why. When I look at Betty's mouth, Susan's little ears, Joann's feet and my hands, I will always see Martha. Martha was twice my sister. We were related by the blood of our parents and by the blood of Jesus. She has crossed over Jordan and now lives in Glory. She leaves her sisters behind crippled operating as a part not a whole. What it meant for one of us to live without the other was never imagined. We are now forced to do so, living with the knowledge that in a little while these five sisters will be reunited on the golden shore to live together and be friends forever. Our responsibility to Martha's children seems greater now than ever. We take up the banner where our dear sister laid it down. We do so with the assurance she would do it for us. We are now her voice. We love you dear sister and the pain of having you away from us, however short or long it may be is for now overwhelming. So I cry to the dear Lord, Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Edna Justice Michelle's Aunt