by Mere

Created on: June 18, 2009   Last Updated: June 20, 2009

Having heard numerous horror stories about chat rooms, one was the last place I would have imagined to find not only a best friend, but a sister of the heart!

It was about six years ago when I came across a small Christian chat room. Most of the regulars lived east of the Rocky Mountains and would go offline by ten o'clock in the evening Central Time.

However, there was one gal from New York who was a bona fide night owl and would appear around midnight which was just nine o'clock here in California. Often we were the only ones in the chat room and our on-line visits began an absolute revelation. It was as if a Hollywood script was being written.

It did not take long to realize how parallel our lives were despite a bit of an age difference. Just shy one month and a day, Cami is ten years my junior. We both know what it is like to have had an alcoholic father. Our relationships with our mothers were Xerox copies. For both of us the only sibling was an older brother seven years our senior and named Charlie!

We were both raised in the same religion. Going to a Bible study gave reason for us to both leave that faith. We share matching spiritual and moral values.

Our marriages took place in the same time frame. We each gave birth to two children; first a daughter and then a son.

There are no differences in our political views. Our education level is identical. Our tastes in home decor and clothing are alike. We even have the same ring size!

We both have experienced deep grief when death called at our doors years ago in a personal way. Cami and her husband lost their son to cancer. My husband had a fatal heart attack.

When I told Cami that my daughter and I were going to be going to New York City she invited us to spend a day with her and her family at their home. We took the train out to the Hudson River Valley on a Saturday morning. When she and her husband met us at the train station with welcoming embraces it was as if we were meeting someone that we had always known.

The day was spent with non-stop conversation. Later in the afternoon their daughter and son-in-law joined us for dinner. Nicole's words of greeting were so true when she said "This is instant friendship."

Before it was time to leave to go back to the city it was obvious that Cami and I were not only best friends but sisters of the heart. We never call one another by our given names. It is always Sis. We are the sisters that neither one of us had.

Learn more about this author, Mere.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.