There have been times this year when my girlfriends have called me, sobbing…

…The baby won’t stop crying
…There’s no juice left in the marriage
…The launch didn’t go as planned
…Finances too tight to be comfortable

There have been times this year when I’ve called them, sobbing…

…Heartbroken and afraid of my next step
…At the edge of sanity with my business
…Tech snafus that felt impossible to untangle
…Mysterious body stuff

And there have been times when we’ve called each other, elated…

…The book proposal snagged a huge offer!
…I’m pregnant!
…I went on an amazing date!
…I had a life-changing realization!

We’re there for one another, through thick and thin.

This is the gift of sisterhood.

It’s knowing that you can be your shiniest and most radiant self, or your most devastated and contracted self, and still be loved.

You’re seen as human at your sparkliest, and divine at your shittiest.

You grow because of your friendship, because you’re both committed to living close to the truth.

You see greatness in her eyes when she’s at her lowest moments, and you make her desires your prayer.

You honor yourselves and forgive each other, because empathy is the foundation of everything.

And even when you’re not connecting, you know that when it really matters, you’ll both show up.

Sisterhood is the love that shares your project on social media and sends you flowers on your birthday. It’s the love that holds your hand in divorce court, and holds the baby so she can take a shower.

If you allow it, it’s the love that gets in all the cracks where your mother’s love couldn’t quite reach, and the love that reveals your wholeness, regardless of what you’ve imagined to be true.

This is my greatest wish for you this year: That you have a nurturing, enthusiastic, courageous and supportive community of women who have your back, whom you feel proud to cheerlead in return.

My wish is that you bring them anything and everything, and welcome theirs, while mutually maintaining your sovereignty.

My wish is that you keep remembering what a gift it is to have this love, and cherish it as you cherish all of the closest relationships in your life.

Life isn’t predictable.  The wiser we are and the wilder our pursuits, the more we embrace this essential truth. 

Sisterhood is what helps us weather it all, with grace, with courage, with love.

—> In the comments below, please share how you plan to cultivate deeper sisterhood in your life this year.  I can’t wait to hear from you.