A Helpful Construction Term
/Rob (my husband) loves watching This Old House. This weekend we watched an episode together on redoing a beautiful old home in Massachusetts. On the show, Norm and Kevin were discussing the need for an expensive replacement of the floor joists in a main room.
In that house, the floor joists in the kitchen were not strong enough to support the stress that new appliances would place upon the joists. However, the budget didn’t allow for total replacement of the joists.
Their solution was sistering the joists.
They explained that sistering is a term in construction that means placing a new board alongside a board that needs extra support. Rather than replacing the board, they place a board next to it it to help carry the load. And if one board isn’t enough, they place new board on each side of the original joists to help add strength.
What a beautiful metaphor to apply to our human experiences.
We all need some sistering sometimes.
Who could use your support right now? Who do you know that is in a tough season of life and might need a friend? How can you walk alongside them?
The boards don’t give advice, rush the process, take over, or criticize, they just sit beside the board that needs help. Quietly relying on their own inner strength to reinforce the one who needs support.
You might also consider how you can sister yourself. Rather than criticizing yourself for being weak, explore how you might partner with yourself to tap into your inner strength. You can become your own source of extra support.
Everyone needs support when the load of life gets heavier.
Show up for people who need you and remember that it is okay to ask someone to show up for you. When they ask you what they can do to help, say “come over and just sit with me.” Or forward this email to them and add, “I could use some sistering.”
Life gets a little lighter when someone helps us carry the weight of it all.